Wall Street Shakes off Early Losses on China Worries

Nichole Harper
04 Mar, 2013
New York City

Stocks in New York rebounded after market indexes dropped as much as 0.4%. On Wall Street stocks extended world market losses after China issued tighter lending guidelines to curb rising property prices.

[R]11:30 AM New York – Stocks in New York rebounded after market indexes dropped as much as 0.4%. On Wall Street stocks extended world market losses after China issued tighter lending guidelines to curb rising property prices.[/R]

Stocks in New York traded lower and market indexes dropped as much as 0.4% in the early trading.

Market indexes in New York extended losses that began in Asia and traveled to Europe after China tightened lending regulations.

China lifted down payment for second home mortgage and also planned to tax capital gains from the sale of such properties.

The move by the Chinese authorities is expected to cool down the bubbling Chinese property market and also raised the worries that the demand for steel and energy also may ease.

Market indexes in Shanghai dropped 3.6% and in Hong Kong and Sydney plunged 1.5%.

European markets traded lower across the region as finance ministers of the currency zone gather in Brussels today.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index slipped 0.5% or 28.9 to 6,350 and in Frankfurt, the DAX index fell 0.4% or 33.9 to 7,674. In Paris, CAC 40 index rose 0.2% or 6.2 to 3,706.

The Italian benchmark index eased 0.4% after leaders of political parties struggled to form a lasting governing coalition and the country may head to second election this year.

Stocks in Review

Berkshire Hathaway decreased 0.9% after the diversified conglomerate’s chairman said that the increase in book value of 14.4% lagged the S&P 500 index market gain of 16% in 2013.

The annual report noted that the five non-financial businesses, Lubrizol, BNSF, Iscar, Marmon Group and MidAmerican Energy increased pre-tax earnings by $600 million to $10.1 billion.

Celgene declined 1.8% and the anti-inflammatory drug maker said smaller proportion of patients reported significant improvement in a late-stage trial.

Ferro Corp increased 27% after the company received a bid worth $6.50 a share of $855 million in cash. The offer is valued at 25% premium to the closing price on March 1.

Hess Corp gained 4.4% after the oil exploration company said it is exploring refining and petroleum retailing businesses and more than doubled its quarterly dividend.

Stratasys soared 11% after the three-dimensional printing company reported latest quarterly results ahead of expectations and lifted 2013 outlook.

Transocean gained 2.7% after the offshore oil driller reported fourth quarter earnings that were ahead of expectations.