U.S. Losses Weigh on Europe

Elena
31 Mar, 2006
Frankfurt

European stocks lost ground at mid-day dealings, reflecting sharp declines on Wall Street overninght when blue-chip stocks dropped on concerns over interest-rate hikes. The German DAX 30 dropped 0.4%, the FRench CAC 40 lost 0.4%, and London FTSE 100 fell 0.4%.

[R] 8:00 AM European averages declined at mid-day.[/R]
European markets rebounded from yesterday’s solid gains and traded lower at mid-day, taking their cue from weak close of U.S markets Thursday when most blue-chip stocks lost ground as higher interest rates concerns weighed. Technology stocks like Nokia and Ericsson failed to sustain recent gains. However, British hedge-fund manager Man Group bucked the downward trend, rising 3.1%. The German DAX 30 rose 0.4%, the French CAC 40 was up 0.4%, and London FTSE 100 also gained 0.4%. In the first quarter European markets advanced 8% on surging materials and utilities sectors.


[R]7:45AM Asian markets finished largely higher. South Korea led gainers.[/R]
Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished broadly higher. The Nikkei advanced 0.1% to 17,059.66, extending recent rally that sent the index to a multi-year high. The index closed the financial year above the key level of 17,000, supported by economic data, property and pharmaceutical stocks. NEC climbed 4.4%, Sumitomo Realty jumped 2.8%, Daiichi Sangyo rose 1.3%. South Korea’s Kospi surged to 1.6%, boosted by strength in the tech and financial sectors on expectations of solid earnings results. The biggest gainers were Kookmin Bank, rising 3.2% and Hynix Semiconductor, up 2.1%. Taiwan Weighted index rose 1% on strong buying interest in tech and financial stocks. China Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%, lifted by copper and gold stocks. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was the most notable decliner across the region, falling 0.5%, led by losses in China Mobile and weak property stocks.