Nikkei, Topix in lowest close of year

In Tokyo both the Nikkei 225 and the Topix index closed at their lowest level this year on Wednesday. The Nikkei was down 2.2 percent to 16,475.61, while the Topix dropped 2.6 percent to 1,594.15. The Mothers market fell 2.66 percent to 751.69. Even thought Japan’s finance minister insisted that problems in the US subprime sector were likely past their peak, banks and non-bank lenders were lower. Exporters, retailers, and utilities also saw declines.

Equities markets elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region were back in negative territory as well, with most indices seeing substantial declines on the session. In China, the Shanghai Composite lost the least, dropping only 0.06 percent to 4,869.88. In South Korea the Kospi index fell 1.7 percent to 1,817.89, while the Hang Seng index was 2.87 percent lower to 21,375.72 in Hong Kong. Australia’s losses were even bigger as the S&P/ASX200 fell 2.96 percent to 5,788 and the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 3.03 percent to 5,801.5. The Straits Times index in Singapore was 3.43 percent lower to 3,273.25, while Taiwan’s Taiex index fell 3.57 percent to 8,593.04. The Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped 4.08 percent, while in Indonesia the Jakarta Composite was down 6.44 percent to 2,029.08.

Europe’s equities markets were mostly lower as well. The exception was Frankfurt’s Dax, which added 0.28 percent to 7,445.9. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.08 percent to 1,493.42. In Madrid, the IBEX dropped 0.18 percent to 14,527.6, while the Paris CAC-40 was 0.66 percent lower to 5,442.72. Most banks were lower, while stock exchange operators also saw losses. Airlines were mixed, while the IT sector, drug makers, and the telecommunications sector all saw gains.

Equities markets in London declined as the FTSE 100 was 0.56 percent lower to 6,109.3 and the FTSE 250 dropped 0.99 percent to 10,889.3. Banks and miners saw declines in the UK, while house builders and property investors were mostly higher on the session.

Wall Street saw gains in early afternoon trade but by the close of trade all three indices fell into negative territory after the US Federal Reserve again injected extra cash into the banking system. The Dow closed 1.29 percent lower to 12,861.47, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.61 percent to 2,458.83 and the S&P 500 fell 1.39 percent to 1,406.7. Earlier, most banks were higher while the retail sector and drug makers also saw gains.

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