Europe’s markets drop on possible losses for banks

European equities markets were lower Friday on concerns that banks will see even more losses than they already have. The pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 1.96 percent lower to 1,309.34. The Paris CAC-40 was down 1.79 percent to 4,771.79 and the IBEX fell 1.8 percent to 13,073.9 while the Dax dropped 1.87 percent to 6,832.43 in Frankfurt. London’s markets were also lower on the session. The FTSE 100 was 1.56 percent lower to 5,787.6 while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.9 percent to 9,897.9.

Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed to end the week on Friday. Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.14 percent to 7,876.37 while the Hang Seng was up 0.53 percent to 24,148.43 in Hong Kong. The FTSE Straits Times index was 1.41 percent higher to 3,088.68 and the Sensex gained 1.96 percent to 18,115.25. The Kospi was 0.16 percent to 1,694.77 while the Shanghai Composite fell 1.21 percent to 4,497.13. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinares dropped 1.19 percent to 5,679.8 and the S&P/ASX200 was down 1.38 percent to 5,606.6. Markets were mixed in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.03 percent to 13,622.56, but the Topix added 0.18 percent to 1,334.89 and the Mothers market jumped 7.28 percent to 655.44.

Wall Street was down in midday trade as investors remained worried about the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.73 percent lower to 12,287.24 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.97 percent to 2,309.97 while the S&P 500 dropped 0.63 percent to 1,340.31.

Among commodities, crude oil, metals, and grains prices were all mixed.

The US dollar and the pound saw declines, while the yen was initially down but managed to win back some losses.

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