British Energy takeover refusal helps equities lower

European equities markets saw declines Friday.

In London, the FTSE 100 was down 1.06 percent to 5,354.7 while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.19 percent to 8,839.9.

Utilities were lower after power generator British Energy (LSE: BGY) would not agree to a takeover offer from Electricite de France (Euronext: EDF), with BE shares dropping 4 percent on the session.

Elsewhere in Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 1.46 percent while the Dax fell 1.28 percent to 6,396.46, the CAC-40 was 1.78 percent lower to 4,314.34 and the IBEX dropped 2.62 percent to 11,569.5.

Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were lower as well.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 2.11 percent to 13,094.59 while the Topix index fell 2.55 percent and the Mothers market dropped 2.69 percent to 496.32 as exports dropped last week for the first time in four years.

Not all markets were lower, with the Hang Seng adding 0.58 percent to 22,862.6 as the Shanghai Composite was up 0.94 percent to 2,801.82 and India’s Sensex gained 2.1 percent to 14,656.69.

Decliners on the session included the Taiex, which dropped 0.31 percent to 7,002.54 while at the same time the Straits Times Index fell 0.8 percent to 2,906 and the Kospi was down 1.31 percent to 1,573.77.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was 1.47 percent lower to 4,904 while the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 1.48 percent to 4,978.

On Wall Street in afternoon trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.59 percent to 11,311.18 while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.69 percent lower to 2,309.48 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.64 percent to 1,259.31 as the unemployment rate grew from 5.5 percent in June to 5.7 percent in July, according to the US Labor Department.

Crude oil prices were higher but metals saw declines and grains prices were mixed.

The dollar was stronger even though the US economy lost jobs in July and the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index declined after results were not as bad as had been anticipated.

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