Stock market fixing:
Nikkei +380.64
+2.7% 14,354.37
Topix +30.12 +2.2% 1,401.69
FTSE -8.20 -0.14% 5,794.60
DAX -35.44 -0.52% 6,729.88
CAC -24.56 -0.52% 4,657.74
Dow -38.27 -0.31%
12,269.08
NASDAQ +20.28 +0.83%
2,474.78
S&P +0.11
+0.01% 1,360.14
10yr Note -0.1600 -0.038%
4.245%
NYMEX Crude Oil -0.25
-0.19% 134.61
Gold +13.20 +1.51% 886.30
Japan's stocks climbed the most in two weeks after the yen fell to its weakest in four
months, boosting earnings at auto and electronics manufacturers.
Toyota Motor Corp., which gets about
half its profit from North America, and its
subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Co. led automakers higher, while Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co. climbed the most in more than two weeks. Mitsui & Co., which
derives more than half its profit from commodities, had the biggest gain in a
month.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed
380.64, or 2.7%, to close at 14,354.37 in Tokyo. The broader Topix index added 30.12,
or 2.2%, to 1,401.69. Both benchmarks posted their biggest rise since May 29.
Four stocks rose for each that fell on the Topix.
The yen depreciated to as much as 108.40 today,
the weakest since Feb. 14, from 107.82 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo on June 13, after finance ministers from the world's
richest nations expressed support for the U.S. currency.
European stocks fell for the first time in three days as concern deepened that higher
raw-material costs will erode earnings for airlines and food companies, while a
report signaled further weakening in the U.S. economy.
British Airways Plc, Europe's
third-biggest carrier, slipped the most in a week and Bayerische Motoren Werke
AG dropped to a three-month low as oil rallied to a record and manufacturing in
New York
shrank more than economists expected. Groupe Danone SA, the world's largest
yogurt maker, and Unilever retreated after UBS AG recommended selling the
stocks.
British Airways sank 4.5%. Ryanair Holdings
Plc, Europe's biggest discount airline,
tumbled 4.9%. Deutsche Lufthansa AG decreased 1.1%.
Danone dropped 2.8%. Unilever, the
world's second-biggest consumer-goods company, fell 2.9%. UBS downgraded the
stocks to ``sell'' from ``neutral,'' citing a deteriorating outlook for
consumer spending and higher energy costs.
Barclays Plc added 3.5%, the
steepest gain in two months, after the U.K.'s fourth-biggest lender by market
value said a sale of shares was ``under active consideration'' and profit rose.
Wall Street closed mix Monday on rising crude prices, weak manufacturing
index; GE downgraded.
Published before the bell report showed the NY Empire State index, a regional manufacturing
reading, fell to -8.7 from a prior reading of -3.2. Economists thought it would
improve to -2.0. Any reading that is positive implies expansion in the sector,
while a negative reading implies further weakness.
Lehman Brothers reported a roughly
$2.8 billion quarterly loss, in line with a warning last week, after posting
huge trading and hedging losses.
AIG became the latest financial firm
to announce a management shakeup as a result of steep losses stemming from the
mortgage crisis. CEO Martin Sullivan is out and the company's chairman, Robert
Willumstad, is in as chief executive. Willumstad will also hang on to the
chairman job. AIG shares were barely changed.
AT&Tand Verizon Communicationswere both downgraded to "neutral"
from "buy" by brokerage UBS, according to published reports.
JP Morgan cut its rating on the GE conglomerate
to "neutral" from "overweight".