Stock market fixing:
Nikkei 225 -127.31 -1.0%
13,303.60
Topix -8.58 -0.7% 1,271.42
FTSE -7.30 -0.13%
5,534.50
DAX -23.76 -0.36%
6,585.87
CAC -20.01 -0.44% 4,518.48
Dow -139.88 -1.19%
11,642.47
NASDAQ -9.34 -0.38% 2,430.61
S&P -15.73 -1.21%
1,289.59
10yr Note -0.8400 -0.210%
3.918%
NYMEX Crude Oil -1.44 -1.26%
113.01
Gold -13.70 -1.65% 814.60
Japan's stocks fell for the first time in three days on concern steelmakers' earnings
will be squeezed and the fastest wholesale inflation in almost three decades
will erode profit margins at manufacturers.
JFE Holdings Inc. led producers of
the alloy lower on speculation Chinese exports will weigh on prices. Snow Brand
Milk Products Co. sank the most in five years as materials costs cut profit.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc. rose to the highest this month as
first-quarter profit reached about half of its annual target.
China's steel exports climbed 38% in July
from the previous month, the nation's customs office said yesterday. BHP
Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, raised prices of iron ore by
as much as 97% this year, while its venture with Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. tripled
coking - coal prices.
Japan's producer prices, the costs
companies pay for energy and raw materials, climbed 7.1% in July from a year
earlier, the steepest gain since January 1981, the Bank of Japan said.
Meanwhile, Japanese consumers became the most pessimistic in June since at
least 1982 when the government began compiling the figures, the Cabinet Office
said today.
JFE fell 6.1%, while bigger rival
Nippon Steel Corp. sank 4.6%. Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. dropped 4.6%.
Snow Brand tumbled 13%, the most
since February 2003, after net income fell 12%. Ajinomoto Co., the nation's
largest maker of food additives, lost 4.4%, after surging materials costs more
than halved first- quarter profit. Nikko Citigroup Ltd. lowered its rating on
the stock to ``hold'' from ``buy.''
European stocks fell for the first time in three days as a retreat in metals prices sent
mining companies lower and investors speculated bank losses will deepen.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's
largest mining company, tumbled after gold, platinum and copper declined. BNP
Paribas SA and UniCredit SpA led banks lower after JPMorgan Chase & Co.
signaled it may write down $1.5 billion in mortgage assets. UBS AG, the
European bank hardest hit by the collapse of the U.S. subprime market, sank the most
in a week. Weir Group Plc, the world's biggest maker of pumps for the mining
industry, had its steepest drop since 2006 after sales at its U.S. unit
declined.
House prices in Britain fell as
the squeeze on credit brought the property market to a ``virtual standstill,''
the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said today. U.K. homebuilders Persimmon Plc and
Bellway Plc dropped after Dresdner Kleinwort said investors should abandon the
stocks.
BHP dropped 1.3%. Rio Tinto Group retreated
1.2%.
BNP Paribas, France's
largest bank, dropped 3.7%. UniCredit,
Italy's
biggest, slipped 1.2%.
JPMorgan said it will write down the
value of mortgage- backed assets by at least $1.5 billion this quarter after
the credit-market turmoil and the U.S. housing slump deepened.
UBS sank 2.4%. The bank reported a
second-quarter net loss of 358 million Swiss francs ($329 million), and said it
doesn't expect the ``adverse economic and financial trends'' to improve in the
second half.
Standard Chartered Plc slipped 6.8%.
Citigroup cut its recommendation on the stock to ``sell'' from ``hold,'' citing
rising inflationary pressure in Asia.
Persimmon sank 5.2%. Bellway, a U.K.
homebuilder aimed at first-time buyers, tumbled 5.6%.
Stocks declined Tuesday, retreating after the recent rally as oil prices fluctuated, the dollar
fell and more credit market problems surfaced.
The ongoing credit market crisis
pressured investor sentiment.
JP Morgan Chase said in a regulatory
filing that trading conditions have deteriorated in the third quarter versus
the second quarter and that it has written down $1.5 billion in credit market
losses in the quarter.
Morgan Stanley said late Monday that
it will repurchase $4.5 billion in auction-rate securities after the Attorney
General's office said its investigation of the sale of such securities will
include the firm.
The repurchase plan won't stop the
investigation from continuing, the Attorney General's office said following the
news. Also, Moody's cut Morgan's debt rating.
UBS reported its fourth straight
quarterly loss Tuesday and said it would split its investment banking unit from
its wealth management unit after wealthy clients withdrew substantial sums
during the quarter.
BP said Tuesday morning that it shut
down a Georgian pipeline for safety reasons. Russia
said it has halted its attacks on Georgia but unrest in the region
remains after days of fighting.
The U.S.
deficit unexpectedly narrowed in June, as an increase in exports overshadowed a
surge in oil import prices, the government said. The trade gap narrowed to
$56.77 billion in June from a revised $59.2 billion in May.