AIG Rescue Boosts Euro Stocks; Asia Rally Fades

European stocks edged up today for the first time in three days on news of the US government's $85 billion bailout of insurance giant AIG—but an early rally in Asian markets faded, reports Bloomberg and the New York Times. Europe's Stoxx 600 climbed as much as 1.9% after trading opened. The FTSE 100 index in London and CAC-40 in Paris both climbed 1.2%. Trading was mixed in in Asia, rattled by continuing concerns about the US and a Chinese real estate meltdown.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down 2% in late trading—after jumping 1.7%—and Shanghai's SE Composite Index was down 3.6%. The Tokyo market closed 1.2% up. “I don’t think the financial markets are out of the woods, they’re still pretty edgy,” an analyst told the New York Times.
(More AIG stories.)