closing
Nikkei 225 +104.45 +0.7%
14,452.82
Topix +7.66 +0.6 1,409.64
FTSE 100 -105.00 -1.79% 5,756.90
CAC 40 -67.58 -1.44% 4,618.75
Xetra Dax -67.25 -0.99% 6,728.91
DOW -130.02 -1.07% 12,030.28
NASDAQ -28.02 -1.14% 2,429.71
S&P 500 -13.00 -0.96% 1,337.93
10yr Note -0.7100 -0.168% 4.154%
NYMEX Crude Oil +2.67 +1.99% 136.68
Gold +6.60 +0.74% 893.50
Japanese stock indexes were higher as real-estate stocks advanced after the nation's biggest
privately held developer said rising rents will boost profit this year.
Mitsubishi Estate surged 2.8%, the highest since June 4, while Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. added 1.6%. Token leapt 12%, the most since Aug. 13.
NEC Electronics soared 16%, the highest since Dec.
10. The stock was the second-biggest winner on the MSCI World Index.
Goldman raised its rating on the shares to ``buy'' from ``neutral,''
saying demand for mobile-phone chips will increase the company's
earnings. NEC Corp., the parent of the chipmaker,
climbed 3.8%, the highest since July 25. The company, which was
delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market in October after failing to
submit its annual report, settled the dispute with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission and won't pay a fine, NEC said today in a
filing to the bourse.
Automakers rebounded in the afternoon session as the yen depreciated against the dollar. Mazda Motor Corp., which exports 80 percent of domestic production, advanced 2.9%, while Aisin Seiki Co., partly owned by Toyota Motor Corp., jumped 3.2%. Denso Corp., another affiliate of Toyota, added 2.8%.
Nipponkoa Insurance Co. tumbled 4.4%, the most since May 7, while Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc. lost 3.5%. Millea Holdings Inc.,
Japan's biggest insurance company by value, slumped 1.8%. Insurers were
the biggest losers among 33 industry groups on the Topix.
European stocks fell on speculation bank writedowns haven't reached the
halfway point and the slowing economy will erode earnings for retailers
and property companies.
Sainsbury lost 3.1%. The third-largest U.K.
supermarket chain said sales growth slowed in the first quarter as
higher living expenses in Britain cut into consumer spending on food
and clothes.
Segro, Britain's largest owner of business parks, lost 4.5%. Land Securities Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest real-estate
investment trust, declined 2.7%. Redrow dropped 18%, and Bellway Plc, a U.K. homebuilder aimed at
first-time buyers, slipped 10%.Carnival fell 3%. Enterprise
Inns Plc slipped 5.2%.
UBS, Europe's biggest bank by
assets, fell 4%. JPMorgan said the bank
will post another 5 billion francs ($4.8 billion) in writedowns in 2008
and widened its estimate for the Swiss company's loss this year to 4.55
francs a share, from 3.33 francs.
Airlines declined after Morgan Stanley
analysts cut price estimates, saying rising fuel prices will hurt
earnings. Air France-KLM Group, Europe's biggest airline, lost 2.3%. British Airways Plc, the third largest, fell 5.2%. Air Berlin Plc sank 8.5%.
Wall Street indexes fell Wednesday with the Dow falling below 12,000 for the
first time in 3 months - as oil surged in afternoon trading ahead of a
key options expiration day.
On the earnings front, FedEx issued fiscal year 2009
earnings guidance well below expectations, citing sluggish demand and
record energy prices. The Tennessee-based company's earnings missed
analyst expectations for its latest quarter.
Morgan
Stanley reported 61% year-over-year drop in second
quarter earnings per share, but that was good enough to top
expectations. However, shares are under pressure after revenue fell
well short of estimates.
One day after Goldman Sachs said
U.S. banks may need to raise as much as $65 billion in more capital,
regional bank Fifth Third Bancorp announced plans
to shore up its balance sheet. Specifically, the Ohio-based bank is
going to raise $1 billion in fresh capital, sell $1 billion in assets
and cut its quarterly dividend by 66% to $0.15 per share.
Shares of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer were up after the company reached a settlement with Ranbaxy
Laboratories over the sale of generic versions of the cholesterol drug
Lipitor. Under the agreement, Pfizer will not face generic competition
until November 2011 -- an extra 20 months. The agreement will have a
significant impact on Pfizer's earnings, considering in 2007 Lipitor --
the world's best selling drug -- accounted for $12.6 billion of
Pfizer's $48.4 billion in revenue.