Markets Are Up Around The World

Markets up are around the world. Stocks are nicely in the green halfway through the European trading session.

Britain's FTSE is up 0.3%.

France's CAC 40 is up 0.3%

Germany's DAX is up 0.3%.

There isn't much going on in Europe. Banking behemoths UBS and Deutsche Bank both announced quarter financial results that were stronger than expected. However, both booked hundreds of millions of dollars worth of charges in anticipation of future legal costs.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed up 0.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.8%.

During Asia's trading session, we saw some cracks in the Japanese economy. The unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 3.7% in June; economists were forecasting 3.5%. Retail sales during the period fell 0.6%; economists were expecting a 0.5% decline.

"Abenomics is stuttering, as the consumption tax increase bites and real incomes are eroded by rising prices," said Societe Generale's Kit Juckes.

"Abenomics" is the ambitious three-part economic experiment Japan embarked on a year and a half ago. Intended to stimulate economic growth and inflation, Abenomics includes aggressive monetary and fiscal policy.

However, a recent consumption tax hike intended to offset some of the costs of Abenomics is taking its toll.

In the U.S., Dow futures are up 35 points and S&P futures are up 3 points.