U.S., World Markets Nervous; Nasdaq Down 1.9%

123jump.com Staff
28 Jan, 2010
New York City

U.S. indexes closed lower with tech stocks leading the decliners. Senate reappointed Ben S. Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. European markets declined on the worries that Greece may face difficulties balancing its budget.

[R]4:00 PM New York, 9:00 PM London, 8:00 AM Sydney – U.S. indexes closed lower with tech stocks leading the decliners. Senate reappointed Ben S. Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. European markets declined on the worries that Greece may face difficulties balancing its budget.[/R]

U.S. stocks closed lower following the weakness in European markets and a decline in commodities.

The U.S. Senate confirmed in 70-30 vote Ben S. Bernanke for the second four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Bernanke second term confirmation is by the smallest margin ever.

Weekly jobless claims declined and durable goods orders increased. President Obama focused on job creations and asked Congress to provide more economic stimulus. E*Trade, Netflix, Qualcomm and Symantec quarterly sales rise.

T. Rowe Price Group reported a surge in earnings and revenues as markets rebound. Qualcomm Incorporated led the decliners in the S&P 500 index with a loss of 13.8%. 3M Co fourth quarter net rises. AT&T Inc profit leaps 26% on gains in the wireless division. Textron Inc posts narrower fourth quarter net loss.

European indexes closed lower overshadowed by the persistent weakness in the Greek bonds for the third day in a row. Regulators in France and Germany denied a report in the newspaper LeMonde that EU members are looking for ways to provide financial assistance to Greece.

On better than expected earnings, Nokia surged more than 12% and H&M soared 8%. Bouygues to price €500 million eight year bond at lower than expected yield.

UK stocks closed lower as the weakness in resource stocks and banks overshadowed better than expected earnings from BSkyB. AstraZeneca reported weaker than expected earnings and lower than expected outlook for the year. Christie’s total 2009 sales declined 24%.

Stocks in Shanghai increased on the optimism that the U.S. efforts to increase jobs and stimulate economy will increase exports. Stocks rebounded from their lows in the last two weeks. Cathay Pacific expects rise in first quarter passenger numbers.

Stocks in Japan surged after Canon reported a surge in earnings forecasted improved earnings outlook. Expectations of higher earnings at Sony, Honda and Nippon Electric Glass lifted stocks. Toyota declined nearly 4% as the automaker expanded recall program and halted sales in the U.S. and Canada.

Investors were on hold ahead of RBI announcement tomorrow. Inflation worries are dragging market sentiment as wholesale price index hovers near record high. Tata Steel quarterly sales increased 33% and net profit gained 155%.

Stocks in Australia edged higher. Australia median house prices rise 12.1% in December. New Zealand holds its benchmark rate at 2.5%. Woodside Petroleum Ltd said that only half of striking workers have returned to Pluto project work defying a court order.

North American Markets

Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 115.70 or 1.1% to a close of 10,120.46, S&P 500 Index edged lower 12.97 or 1.2% to 1,084.53, and Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 42.41 or 1.91% to close at 2,179.00. Toronto TSX Composite Index decreased 69.91 or 0.6% to 11,274.20.

Latin American Markets Indexes

Mexico Bolsa Index increased 200.52 or 0.7% to 30,811.35 and Brazil Bovespa Stock Index added 518.02 or 0.8% to 66,587.81.

Europe Markets Review

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 71.73 or 1.37% to 5,145.74, in Paris CAC 40 Index decreased 71.01 or 1.89% to close at 3,688.79, in Frankfurt DAX index lower 102.87 or 1.82% to close at 5,540.33. In Zurich trading SMI decreased 30.62 or 0.47% to close at 6,442.41.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed higher 162.21 or 1.58% to 10,414.29, and Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased 323.30 or 1.61% to 20,356.37, and CSI 300 index in China higher 8.00 or 0.25% to 3,206.57. ASX 200 index in Australia increased 28.70 or 0.62% to 4,673.30. The FTSE Bursa KL Composite index in Malaysia was lower 1.26 or 0.10% to 1,264.51.

The Kospi Index in South Korea increased 16.95 or 1.04% to close at 1,642.43. SET index in Thailand closed lower 0.74 or 0.11% to 689.72. JSE Index in Indonesia increased 55.01 or 2.15% to 2,619.56. The Sensex index in India increased 17.05 or 0.10% to 16,306.87.

Commodities, Metals, and Currencies

Crude oil increased $0.07 to $73.74 a barrel for a front month contract, natural gas edged down 4 cents to $5.18 per mBtu and gasoline decreased 1.52 cents to 192.40 cents.

Soybean future closed up 2.75 cents to $9.3175 a bushel. Wheat futures closed up 3.25 cents in Chicago trading to $4.87 a bushel. Sugar closed up 0.64 cents at 29 cents.

Gold increased $1.10 in New York trading to close at $1,086.80 per ounce, silver closed down $0.21 to $16.23 per ounce and copper for the front month delivery decreased 12.25 cent to $3.10 per pound.

Dollar closed higher against euro to $1.397 and edged lower against the Japanese yen to 89.90.

Yield on 10-year U.S. bonds closed unchanged to 3.65% and with 30-year maturities closed lower at 4.55%.