Europe markets lower on continuing credit concerns
by Elaine Frei
European markets were lower Friday on worries that a needed rescue of Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) due to serious liquidity problems meant that credit losses are nowhere near an end. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.95 percent lower to 1,256.37. The IBEX was down 0.4 percent to 13,021.4 while the Dax fell 0.75 percent to 6,451.9 and the CAC-40 dropped 0.82 percent to 4,592.15. London’s equities markets were also down, with the FTSE 100 down 1.07 percent to 5,631.7 and the FTSE 250 dropped 0.97 percent to 9,706.1.
Tokyo’s equities markets were lower again on Friday after property developers lowered profits forecasts and as the yen strengthened yet again. The Nikkei 225 was 1.54 percent lower to 12,241.6 while the Topix index fell 1.86 percent to 1,193.23 and the Mothers market of small and mid-caps dropped 3.53 percent to 581.75.
Other markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed. Gainers included the Straits Times Index, which added 1.19 percent to 2,839.01. In Australia the S&P/ASX200 was up 1.38 percent to 5,206.9 and the Sydney Ordinaries gained 1.4 percent to 5,288.5. The Sensex was 2.63 percent higher to 15,760.52. Declines came for the Shanghai Composite, which was down 0.22 percent to 3,962.67. The Hang Seng was 0.29 percent lower to 22,237.11 while the Taixe fell 0.6 percent to 8,161.39 and the Kospi index dropped 0.95 percent to 1,600.26.
Wall Street was lower in early afternoon trade after early gains on a Labor Department report that the Consumer Price Index was flat in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.86 percent to 11,920.07, down 225.67 points after having fallen more than 300 points after the announcement of the Bear Stearns bailout. The Nasdaq Composite was 2.38 percent lower to 2,209.82 while the S&P 500 dropped 2.28 percent to 1,285.5.
Crude oil prices were slightly lower in afternoon trade, while metals prices were mixed. Grains prices were lower on the session.
The dollar declined once again, hitting new record lows versus the euro and the Swiss franc and going to a 12-year low in relation to the yen.
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