Markets mixed on US rescue plan

European markets were mixed yesterday and US futures fell, a day after surging on hopes that a US plan to rid banks of festering debts at the heart of the financial crisis will revive growth. Asian stock markets continued their rally.

By noon in mainland Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 1 percent to 3,913.09. Germany's DAX rose 0.4 percent to 4,194.41 and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.4 percent to 2,879.61. The markets had surged between 2.7 percent and 2.9 percent on Monday after the Obama administration detailed a plan to clean up as much as $1 trillion in toxic securities and loans weighing down bank balance sheets with the help of private investors.

Futures on the S&P 500 slipped 0.8 percent at 11:29 am in London. The gauge rallied 22 percent since March 9 as Citigroup Inc, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said they made money in the first two months of 2009 and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled plans by the US to finance as much as $1 trillion in purchases of distressed assets.