Japan stocks fell to a two-week low as earnings forecasts in the
U.S. indicated the world's biggest economy is weakening, and reports
Japan's biggest banks may sell new shares raised dilution concerns.
Sony
Corp. slumped 8.7 percent after U.S. retailer Best Buy Co. cut its
forecast on a spending slowdown, and the yen rose to the highest this
month. Chipmaker Elpida Memory Inc. plunged 13 percent after rival
Intel Corp. cut its sales forecast. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. sank
6.6 percent on speculation it will sell new shares, and the U.S.
Treasury scrapped plans to buy mortgage assets, feeding concern the
financial crisis is deepening.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped
456.87, or 5.3 percent, to close at 8,238.64 in Tokyo. The broader
Topix index fell 37.70, or 4.3 percent, to 837.53. Both gauges sank to
the lowest since Oct. 29. The Nikkei rallied as much as 33 percent from
a 26-year low on Oct. 27, and has since pared that gain by more than
half.
``Best Buy's poor earnings is an indication of just how fast
consumer sentiment is imploding in the U.S.,'' said Kazuya Nakamura,
who helps oversee about $10 billion at Norinchukin Zenkyoren Asset
Management Co. in Tokyo. ``The continued expansion of targets for the
financial bailout package is also indicative of the severity of the
crisis.''
Shimizu Corp. led a rally by construction companies after brokerages lifted their ratings on the companies.
European
stocks fell for a third day, led by banks and commodity producers, as
Germany sank into recession and the OECD forecast a global economic
slump.
Barclays Plc slumped 6.2 percent, and BHP Billiton Ltd.
sank 2.3 percent after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development reduced its outlook for global growth and predicted an
``extended period of financial headwinds.'' DSG International Plc
tumbled 32 percent as the London's Times said the U.K. retailer had its
supplier insurance pared back by Atradius.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 600
Index lost 0.6 percent to 204.08, pushing this year's retreat to 44
percent. Germany entered its worst recession in at least 12 years.
Germany's
DAX gained 0.6 percent, with Siemens AG rallying after Europe's biggest
engineering company said it saw no cancellations of projects. France's
CAC 40 climbed 1.1, led by GDF Suez SA on confirmation of its profit
target.
U.S. stocks gained for the first time this week
as investors snapped up energy shares trading at their cheapest
valuations on record, overshadowing a jump in jobless claims and a
worsening outlook for technology companies.
Exxon Mobil Corp.
and Chevron Corp. led gains in all 40 energy producers in the Standard
& Poor's 500 Index as oil rebounded from a 21-month low. CB Richard
Ellis Inc., the world's largest provider of commercial real estate
services, advanced 45 percent after raising money in a share sale. Dell
Inc., the second-biggest maker of personal computers, lost 7 percent as
it was added to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s ``conviction sell'' list on
concern that demand is slowing.
The S&P 500 added 3.3 percent to
880.25 at 2:50 p.m. in New York, reversing a slide of 3.9 percent. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 228.98 points, or 2.8 percent,
to 8,511.64 after earlier tumbling 317 points. About 11 stocks rose for
every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
The gains in
oil producers came after the valuation of the S&P 500 Energy Index
retreated to less than 6.2 times earnings for the group, the cheapest
since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 1995.
Exxon Mobil, the
largest oil company, climbed 5 percent to $72.36. Chevron Corp., the
second-biggest U.S. energy company, added 6.7 percent to $71.76.
Oil
climbed as much as 4.9 percent after a U.S. government report showed a
smaller-than-expected supply increase and refiners cut operating rates.
CB
Richard Ellis Group Inc., which closed at a four-year low of $3.77
yesterday and sold 50 million shares at that price after the close,
rose $1.63 to $5.40. It may use the proceeds to repay debt, make
acquisitions, add to working capital or for capital expenditures and
investments, it said in a regulatory filing.
Prologis, which slid 35
percent yesterday, jumped 29 percent to $5.75 today. Shares of the
world's largest warehouse developer look ``especially attractive'' and
the company's announcement yesterday to replace its chief executive
officer and cut dividends is ``prudent,'' Barclays Plc wrote in a
report.