Europe, US equities lower on session

China’s equities markets were significantly lower on Monday. The Shanghai Composite dropped 8.26 percent to 3,670.4, while the Shenzhen Composite fell 7.85 percent to 1,039.9. The declines came even though the Chinese government tried to assure investors that its recent moves to cool stock markets there were aimed speculators and that the outlook for the medium and long-term is positive. Other Asian markets didn’t seem excessively bothered by the declines in China. While the Sensex dropped 0.51 percent in India, to 14,495.77, other markets in the region saw gains. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong added 0.62 percent to 20,729.59, while the Straits Times index in Singapore was 0.87 percent higher to 3,579.35. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.88 percent to 6,419.6. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 ended the session at 17,973.42, a gain of 0.1 percent, while the Topix index was 0.3 percent higher to 1,772.84. Tokyo’s export-focused sectors were helped by a weaker yen. Construction equipment and automobile makers were higher, as were shippers and the steel sector.

Wall Street was lower at midday, but analysts said the declines were no so much in reaction to the day’s losses in China as they were a response to new Commerce Department figures that showed US factory orders were up by only 0.3 percent in April, when a rise of 0.7 percent had been expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.17 percent lower to 13,644.7, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.08 percent to 2,611.95 and the S&P 500 was down 0.03 percent to 1,535.88. News on mergers and acquisitions brought gains in the oil sector, but declines among media groups. There were declines among food and beverage companies on disappointing quarterly results, while upgrades helped retailers and coming new technology spurred gains in the computer sector.

European markets were also lower on the session, with declines attributed to unease after the declines in China as well as to profit-taking in some sectors. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.23 percent lower to 1,622.11. Among continental markets, the Xetra Dax fell 0.14 percent to 7,976.79, while in Madrid the IBEX was 0.56 percent lower to 15,414.3 and the Paris CAC-40 dropped 0.69 percent to 6,125.81. In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.19 percent to 6,664.1 and the FTSE 250 was 0.5 percent lower to 12,135.4. On the continent, the steel sector saw gains, as did chemicals groups and retailers. Carmakers were mixed, while banks and utilities were lower. In London, property developers were lower, as were publishers and retailers. Hotels, media companies, and banks saw advances.

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