SEOUL, South Korea — World markets were mixed today, failing to get much impetus from Wall Street's rebound as pervasive concerns about the dismal outlook for the world economy dominated sentiment.

Most Asian stock markets crept higher but major European bourses opened lower and futures pointed to a weak session on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 1.8 percent, or 140.41 points, to 8,004.10 and benchmark indexes in Hong Kong, China, Australia, Singapore and India also inched higher as investors nibbled on shares after broad declines the day before.

South Korea bucked the trend with the key index down 0.1 percent and Taiwan's benchmark fell 1.1 percent. Britian's FTSE-100 was down 1 percent, Germany's DAX slipped 2.3 percent and France's CAC-40 retreated 2.2 percent.

"Investors remained cautious due to sustained worries over a prolonged global downturn," said Masatoshi Sato, market analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.

In a volatile session Tuesday in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 270 points, or 3.3 percent, to 8,419.09, clawing back some of Monday's 7.7 percent plunge. That decline had sent Asian stocks sharply lower Tuesday.

The U.S. market withstood mixed messages from troubled U.S. automakers. General Motors said it needs $12 billion in government loans and a $6 billion line of credit, while Chrysler said it needs $7 billion by year's end. Ford asked for a $9 billion "standby line of credit" in case one of its rivals fails.

Worries about the viability of the three companies has weighed on Wall Street and the broader economy in recent weeks amid a debate over whether they should receive government assistance. Futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street with Dow futures down 132 points, or 1.6 percent, at 8300 and S&P futures off 15.7 points, or 1.9 percent, at 833.30.

Asian automakers were mostly lower today after U.S. auto sales plunged 37 percent in November to their worst level in more than 26 years. In Tokyo, Toyota fell 0.9 percent and Honda slid 4.7 percent. South Korea's Hyundai shed 3 percent and Kia dropped 1.8 percent.