Barclays loses ground on rating cut
European equities markets were lower Monday as parts of Western Europe and the UK saw its worst snow in years.
The FTSE 100 was down 1.73 percent to 4,077.78 while the FTSE 250 dropped 3.17 percent to 6,052.38 in light trade as heavy snow kept many commuters away from work.
Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642) dropped 10.56 percent after Moody’s Investors Service cut Barclays’ long-term debt rating to Aa3, citing the probability of more losses for the bank.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 2.57 percent to 776.3 while the CAC-40 was down 1.48 percent to 2,930.05, the Dax was 1.55 percent lower to 4,271.04 and the IBEX dropped 2.57 percent to 8,233.4.
Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region were also lower on declines in the banking sector and on disappointing outlooks from the electronics sector.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.5 percent to 7,873.98 while the Topix index fell 2.04 percent to 777.85 and the Mothers market dropped 1.2 percent to 335.62.
The Sydney Ordinaries fell 0.99 percent to 3,443.5 and the S&P/ASX200 was down 1.22 percent to 3,497.4 in Australia, while South Korea’s Kospi was 1.3 percent lower to 1,146.95, the Straits Times Index dropped 2.36 percent to 1,705.29, the Hang Seng fell 2.14 percent to 12,861.49 and in India the Sensex dropped 3.79 percent to 9,066.7.
Not all markets in the region saw declines however, as the Taiex added 0.28 percent to 4,259.98 and the Shanghai Composite gained 1.06 percent to 2,011.68.
In early afternoon trade in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.9 percent to 7,928.46 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.37 percent to 822.82, but the Nasdaq Composite was p 0.65 percent to 1,485.98.
Crude oil prices and most metals saw declines on the session, while grains prices were down on the Chicago Board of Trade.
The pound saw declines on the cut in Barclays’ long-term debt rating and on the probability that the Bank of England will cut interest rates to 1 percent later in the week.
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