US, European markets see substantial declines

Wall Street was down substantially in midday trade Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.56 percent lower to 13,155.25, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 1.86 percent to 2,565.73 and the S&P 500 was down 1.45 percent to 1,457.08. The decline came after the Labor Department reported that there were 4,000 fewer jobs in August. Both car and motorcycle makers were lower, as were the semiconductors sector and aluminium producers. Some banks and drinks makers saw slight gains.

European markets were significantly lower on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 2.29 percent to 1,492.66. The IBEX dropped 2.29 percent to 13,873.4 in Madrid, while in Frankfurt the Dax was down 2.43 percent to 7,436.63 and the CAC-40 was 2.63 percent lower in Paris. There were few gains, but those there were came among medical care groups, the pharmaceuticals sector, and software developers. The biggest declines came among banks and property developers.

London’s markets were down nearly as much as continental markets. The FTSE 100 was down 1.93 percent to 6,191.2, while the FTSE 250 fell 1.97 percent to 11,107.7. Software developers there were higher, as was the aerospace sector, electricity generators, and some miners. Property developers were lower, and airlines and pubs operators saw declines. The insurance sector was mixed.

Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed again on Friday. In Taiwan the Taiex was up a bare 0.01 percent, or 1 point, to 9,018.08, while the Straits Times index closed at 3,488.97. The S&P/ASX200 gained 0.44 percent to 6,278.4 in Australia, while the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.5 percent to 6,296.5. Decliners included India’s Sensex, which dropped 0.17 percent to 15,590.42. The Kospi fell 0.21 percent to 1,884.9 in South Korea, while the Hang Seng was 0.28 percent lower to 23,982.61 in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite was down 2.16 percent to 5,277.18.

Tokyo’s markets dropped again. The Nikkei 225 was 0.83 percent lower to 16,122.16, while the Topix index dropped 0.73 percent to 1,557.02 and the Mothers market dipped 0.93 percent to 704.82. The real estate sector was lower again on fears that prices could drop substantially. Banks and exporters were also lower, but some commodities-related sectors saw gains.

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