Asia-Pacific equities lower on broker comments, forecast cuts

Asia-Pacific equities were lower Wednesday on reduced broker recommendations for Korean shipbuilders and after a Japanese power company cut its profit forecast and it was anticipated that others would do so as well. The Taiex was down 0.43 percent to 7,543.5 while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.9 percent to 4,417.85. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 1.55 percent to 5,665.3 and the S&P/ASX200 was 1.71 percent lower to 5,618.7. The FTSE Straits Times Index was down 1.64 percent to 3,000.03. In India, the Sensex fell 1.84 percent to 17,758.64. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 2.63 percent lower to 23,653.69 while the Kopsi index dropped 2.98 percent to 1,589.06 in South Korea.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.99 percent to 13,345.03 and the Topix index was down 0.65 percent to 1,320.11 while the Mothers market of small and mid-caps dropped 1.39 percent to 647.39. Utilities were lower on profit prediction declines, while the electronics sector was also lower on a strengthening yen. Shippers, on the other hand, saw advances.

European markets were lower on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.66 percent to 1,329.43. The IBEX dropped 0.22 percent in Madrid while the Dax was down 0.26 percent to 6,875.35 in Frankfurt and the Paris CAC-40 dropped 1.37 percent to 4,873.57. Construction groups were up on the session, as were chipmakers. Banks were mixed while car and truck makers and airlines were lower on the session.

Equities markets were mixed in London. The FTSE 100 was 0.81 percent lower to 5,837.3 but the FTSE 250 added 0.03 percent to 9,908.5. Miners, pubs operators and the business services sector all were higher, while banks, insurers, brewers and online gamblers all saw declines.

Wall Street saw gains immediately after the Federal Reserve cut its main interest rate to 3 percent, as had been expected, but markets were lower by the end of the session in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3 percent to 12.442.83 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.38 percent to 2,349 and the S&P 500 fell 0.48 percent to 1,355.81. Among the sectors seeing declines were pharmaceuticals and the internet sector, but there were gains among plastic container manufacturers.

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