20.08.2008 11:21

Stock market: Tuesday summary

Stock market fixing:
Nikkei -300.40 -2.28% 12,865.05
Topix -28.21 -2.20% 1,235.54
FTSE -129.80 -2.38% 5,320.40
DAX -150.45 -2.34% 6,282.43
CAC -116.05 -2.61% 4,332.79
Dow -130.84 -1.14% 11,348.55
NASDAQ -32.62 -1.35% 2,384.36
S&P -11.91 -0.93% 1,266.69
10yr Note +0.2600 +0.068% 3.842%
NYMEX Crude Oil +1.66 +1.47% 114.53
Gold +11.10 +1.38% 816.80

Japan's stocks fell, sending the Topix index to a four-month low, on renewed concern credit losses will dent profits at financial companies and as the Bank of Japan cut its assessment on the economy.
Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. sank the most in a week after Barron's said the U.S. government is preparing to rescue mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Seven & I Holdings Co., the nation's biggest retailer, lost 2.1 percent and Nintendo Co. fell to a five-month low as the central bank described the economy as ``sluggish.''
Nintendo, maker of the Wii game machine, slumped 3.3%, the lowest since March 17, while digital-camera maker Canon Inc. dropped 3.8%. Bridgestone Corp., the world's largest tiremaker, tumbled 4.2%, the most since June 19.
The Bank of Japan today kept its benchmark interest rate at 0.5%, saying economic growth has been sluggish owing to rising costs and weakening exports. Before the announcement, Nomura Securities Co. cut its forecast for domestic growth this year to 0.7% from its May estimate of 1.1%.

European stocks declined for a second day as concern deepened that financial firms will post more losses and reports signaled faster-than-forecast inflation.
Barclays Plc slipped 5.4% and Societe Generale SA slumped 4.2% after JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. may write down about $4 billion in credit- related investments this quarter as the mortgage market deteriorates. Ciba Holding AG tumbled 17% after posting a loss on a writedown and higher raw-material prices. Wienerberger AG led construction companies lower, sinking 6.1%, after cutting its profit outlook following the U.S. homebuilding slump.
Lehman will probably post losses in the third quarter following the deterioration in the mortgage market, New York- based JPMorgan analysts Kenneth Worthington and Funda Akarsu wrote in a report to investors dated yesterday.
The analysts lowered their per-share estimate for the third quarter to a loss of $3.30 from a profit of 35 cents previously. Lehman will likely keep the Neuberger Berman LLC asset-management unit, the analysts added.

Stocks fell Tuesday as deepening worries about the financial sector and housing market balanced a further drop in oil prices.

Investors focused on Fannie and Freddie after the shares of both firms sank to their lowest levels in nearly two decades Monday. The sharp drop, which raised credit jitters, was triggered by a report in Barron's that suggested a government takeover of the troubled companies is inevitable.
The spotlight is also on Lehman amid reports that the Wall Street firm may sell part of its investment-management business, which includes Neuberger Berman.
The Labor Department reported that the Producer Price Index rose 1.2% in July, after increasing 1.8% in June. Analysts had expected the index to increase only 0.6% in July. The so-called core PPI number, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.7% - more than the 0.2% increase analysts had expected.
Starts plunged 11% to an annual rate of 965,000 from a revised 1.084 million pace in June, when the total was inflated by a jump in multi-family home starts. Economists had forecast starts would fall to a rate of 960,000. Permits, which are often seen as a sign of builders' confidence in the market, tumbled 17% to an annual rate of 937,000 from a revised 1.138 million in June. Economists had forecast that permits would come in at 959,000.
Corporate news: The world's largest home improvement retailer Home Depot reported a 24% drop in second-quarter profit. Home Depot said earnings fell to $1.2 billion, or 71 cents a share, in the second quarter, from $1.59 billion, or 81 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Aircraft builder General Dynamics has entered an agreement with Jet Aviation to buy the smaller Swiss company for $2.25 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2008.