Asia-Pacific equities mixed; Europe, US see declines

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Wednesday after reports that the economies in both South Korea and Singapore are slowing and on the news that the bombing of an army bus in Colombo, Sri Lanka, had killed four. The Straits Times index was 0.61 percent lower to 3,461.22 in Singapore on reports that its gross domestic product dropped 3.2 percent on an annualized basis. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.91 percent to 27,560.52 while the Taiex fell 2.15 percent to 8,323.05 in Taiwan. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 2.3 percent to 8,323.05 after the Finance Ministry there cut its economic growth forecast on the possibility that exports will slow.

There were gains in Australian markets after new data revealed that manufacturing was up there at its fastest pace in 5 years in December. The Sydney Ordinaries added 0.2 percent to 6,434.1 and the S&P/ASX200 was up 0.21 percent to 6,353.2. The Shanghai Composite was also 0.21 percent higher on the session, to 5,272.81. Meanwhile, India’s Sensex gained 0.81 percent to 20,465.3. Tokyo’s markets were closed for the day.

In Europe, markets saw declines. The pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 1.23 percent to 1,488.1. The Paris CAC-40 was 1.14 percent lower to 5,550.36 while Madrid’s IBEX fell 1.18 percent to 15,002.5. In Frankfurt the Dax, which added 22 percent in 2007, dropped 1.47 percent on the session to 7,949.11. There were few gainers in Paris or Frankfurt, but the semiconductors sector, drinks makers, and the steel sector managed small advances. Among the biggest losers on the session were builders, stock exchange operators, and retailers.

London’s markets were also lower on the session, with the FTSE 100 down 0.62 percent to 6,416.7 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.07 percent to 10,650.7. Retailers were mixed but winners in the sector were among the biggest gainers of the session. Banks were also mixed. Most miners and the telecoms sector were lower on the session.

Wall Street was lower in afternoon trade after oil prices rose to $100 per barrel and on a report from the Institute for Supply Management which showed that manufacturing activity in the US contracted in December. The ISM manufacturing index fell to 47.7 in the last month of 2007, with any reading below 50 indicating that activity has contracted rather than expanding. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.26 percent to 13,098.1 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.03 percent to 2,625 and the S&P 500 fell 0.87 percent to 1,455.63. The semiconductors sector was lower on negative broker comments, but there were gains among internet retailers on a broker upgrade within the sector.

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