Equities open lower, Sensex down 187 points

Mumbai (IANS): Indian equities markets opened marginally lower on Friday and then slid into negative territory on weak global cues with a key index down 187 points some two hours into trading.

Two hours into trading, the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was ruling at 9,042.61, down 187.14 points or 2.03 per cent from its previous close on Thursday at 9,229.75 points.

The Sensex opened some 25 points lower at 9,204.69 points, hit a high of 9,340.69 before slipping to its current value.

The broader-based 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), also showed a similar trend and was ruling at 2740.50, down 47.5 points or 1.70 per cent from its previous close Thursday at 2788.00 points.

The BSE midcap index was ruling at 2,909.65, down 13.15 points or 0.45 per cent from its previous close Thursday at 2,922.80 points.

The BSE smallcap index was, however, still in the green and was ruling at 3,333.27, up 1.47 points or 0.04 per cent from its previous close Thursday at 3,331.80 points.

Overnight U.S. markets closed in the red with a key index of the New York Stock Exchange finishing 3.21 per cent lower. The Nasdaq index closed 3.14 per cent lower than its previous close Wednesday.

Asian markets were mixed with the Nikkei, key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange ruling 0.08 per cent lower but the Hang Seng, key index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was showing gains of 1.93 per cent.

The underlying sentiment is still very much negative and so despite the surge Thursday, markets are again in a bear grip, analysts said.


SOurce: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200812051213.htm

Global Stocks Slide On Jobs Data; Oil Slides

Investors in Europe dumped stocks and dove into less risky fixed income securities, pushing a pan-European stock index down 4 percent.

U.S. and European stocks fell on Friday after steep losses in the U.S. labor market sent bond prices higher in Europe and pushed the price of crude below $41 a barrel as the outlook for the global economy darkened.
Investors in Europe dumped stocks and dove into less risky fixed income securities, pushing a pan-European stock index down 4 percent, as investors reeled from data showing 533,000 Americans lost jobs in November, the biggest drop in 34 years.

Oil prices slid more than 5 percent to a four-year low while the dollar climbed against European currencies and the yen rallied on another flight to quality in the face of a U.S. recession that looms as the deepest since 1981.

"Just when you thought that the U.S. economic outlook couldn't get any uglier, it goes ahead and does," said Meny Grauman, an economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto.

Stocks sold off broadly as investors feared the job losses will cause consumers to cut back spending and sharply reduce corporate earnings.

The energy sector was the biggest casualty on both sides of the Atlantic. Exxon Mobil fell 3.8 percent and Chevron dropped 2.4 percent, the Nos 1 and 3 drags on the Dow. Total slumped 8.9 percent and BP 6.6 percent, the biggest drags on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index.

Banks also were among the biggest drags in Europe, with BNP Paribas falling 7.5 percent and Credit Suisse dropping 5.5 percent.

"When you see such a shocking employment number, you realize the devastating effect that can have on household demand," said Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Stockbrokers in London.

In early afternoon New York trade, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 88.01 points, or 1.05 percent, at 8,288.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 7.67 points, or 0.91 percent, at 837.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 7.36 points, or 0.51 percent, at 1,438.20.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index closed down 4 percent at 793.94 points, and has lost about half its value so far this year.

Euro zone government bond futures rose, pushing the 10-year cash yield below 3 percent and near Thursday's trough of 2.939 percent, the lowest in over 30 years.

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent in November -- dramatic news that would normally touch off a flurry of safe-haven buying of debt.

But with 10-year euro zone and U.S. yields -- which move in the opposite direction to their prices -- near historic lows, analysts said the near term risk was for market momentum to run out of steam, as a fall in U.S. bonds would suggest.

Investors are reluctant to buy U.S. government debt with yields hovering off their the lowest level in over 50 years.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 11/32 in price to yield 2.59 percent. The 2-year U.S. Treasury note was off 4/32 to yield 0.87 percent.

"We're already at (yield) levels we've never seen before. It's just difficult to continue buying Treasuries at these prices," said Kim Rupert, managing director of global fixed income analysis at Action Economics in San Francisco.

November's job losses were the steepest since December 1974, when 602,000 jobs were shed, Labor Department data showed, and were much worse than forecast by analysts polled by Reuters who had predicted a reduction of 340,000 jobs.

The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.77 percent at 87.282. Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.05 percent to 92.12.

The euro fell 0.80 percent at $1.2668.

U.S. light sweet crude oil fell $1.96 to $41.71 a barrel.

Many dealers and analysts expect oil prices to soon test the psychologically important $40 level as evidence mounts of a significant decline in oil demand in developed economies.

Spot gold prices fell $15.15 to $750.50 an ounce.

Asian shares edged higher overnight, with the MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rising 0.2 percent, but trimmed gains to trade lower after the U.S. employment report. The Nikkei average <.N225> fell 0.1 percent.

Source: http://www.javno.com/en/economy/clanak.php?id=211595

Closing Stock Market Indices Outside The U.S.

Here is how major stock markets outside the United States ended on Friday.

LONDON - Britain's top share index closed 2.7 percent lower, with energy stocks and miners the heaviest losers as the sharpest monthly jobs fall in the U.S. since 1974 highlighted the bleak demand outlook for commodities.


The FTSE 100 closed 114.24 points lower at 4,049.37. The index is down 238.64 points or 5.6 percent this week, and 37.3 percent this year.


EUROPE - European stocks slid more than 4 percent, as investors on both sides of the Atlantic reeled at grim U.S. unemployment data, and with oils and bank stocks leading the decline.


The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 3.96 percent at 793.94 points, dropping 68.13 points in the week.


FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 4381.47 points, down 182.76 or 4.00 percent on the day, and dropping 287.97 over the week.


PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 2988.01 points, down 173.15 or 5.48 percent, shedding 274.67 points since last week.


ZURICH - The Swiss market index closed at 5530.84 points, down 118.3 or 2.09 percent, dumping 285.76 points since Monday.


MILAN - The All Share Mibtel index closed at 14123 points, down 702 or 4.74 percent, losing 1,401 points in the week.


TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average edged down 0.1 percent as Mizuho Financial and other banks fell on fears about the potential fallout if big U.S. automakers file for bankruptcy, while investors were cautious before key U.S. jobs data.


The Nikkei fell 7 percent, or 594.76 points, on the week and has lost some 48 percent on the year. It shed 6.73 points to close at 7,917.51.


HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares rose 2.5 percent, as Chinese property and financial stocks rallied on talk Beijing may further ease key interest rates and cut reserve requirements on bank deposits to spur the economy.


The Hang Seng Index closed up 336.31 points at 13,846.09. For the week, the index was down 0.3 percent, or 42.15 points.


SYDNEY - Australian shares fell 1.2 percent as sharp falls in oil and metals prices weighed down on commodity stocks such as BHP Billiton, but coal miner Felix Resources jumped on a possible takeover offer.


The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 42.5 points to close at 3,489.9, The index lost 6.8 percent, or 252.6 points, over the week, after logging its biggest weekly gain ever last week.


JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand weakened against the dollar as negative U.S. jobs data raised risk aversion and local stocks also took hammering, shaken by weaker mining shares and lower global equities.


The All-share index fell 2.63 percent to 19,279.79 points, shedding 521.14 points on the day and a total of 1,929.70 over the week. The All Gold index closed at 1951.11 points, down 31.26 or 1.58 percent, and worse off by 40.72 points since last weekend. The Industrial index closed at 15387.33 points, down 323.64 or 2.06 percent, and 911.15 points down on the week.

Source: http://www.javno.com/en/economy/clanak.php?id=211579