Declines for most equities markets

Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were lower again on Tuesday on concerns that soaring commodities prices will hurt earnings. Exceptions to the losses came in South Korea, where the Kospi added 0.27 percent to 1,676.18, and in Taiwan with a gain of 2.51 percent to 8,470.11 for the Taiex. The Straits Times Index, however, was down 0.23 percent to 2,919.68. In Australia the S&P/ASX200 was 0.47 percent lower to 5,380.3 while the Sydney Ordinaries fell 0.57 percent to 5,479.2. The Hang Seng dropped 1.97 percent to 23,119.87, the Sensex was down 2.03 percent to 16,339.89, and the Shanghai Composite fell 2.32 percent to 4,335.45.

Tokyo’s markets were also hurt by the rise in commodities prices, as well as by continuing concerns that banks will be forced to take more writedowns connected to the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States. The Nikkei 225 traded essentially even, adding just 0.1 point to 12,992.28, while the Topix index fell 0.43 percent to 1,265.66 and the Mothers market dropped 2.01 percent to 660. While traders were up on higher target share prices in the sector from Daiwa Securities, banks, oil refiners, tire makers, and the real estate sector were all lower on the session.

European markets were lower on new data that showed that the Eurozone economy expanded more slowly in the fourth quarter of 2007, when the Gross Domestic Product was up 0.4 percent compared to growth of 0.7 percent in the third quarter. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 1.45 percent to 1,279.23. In Paris, the CAC-40 was 1.41 percent lower to 4,,675.91 while the IBEX fell 1.81 percent to 12,630.1 in Madrid and the Dax dropped 2.17 percent to 6,545.04 in Madrid. Banks saw declines after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that banks should write down more mortgage debt, forgiving more home loans in danger of defaulting. Carmakers saw declines on predictions of a slower European market, while the semiconductors sector dropped on a reduced profits forecast in the US sector. There were few gainers, mostly among drinks makers and food processors.

Equities markets were also lower in London. The FTSE 100 was down 0.87 percent to 5,767.7 while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.69 percent to 9,944.5. Miners were mixed, although those that saw gains were mostly up substantially. There were also gains in the financial services sector and among retailers, but more retailers saw declines than gains. The food and beverages sector was also mixed. The oil sector was mostly lower while banks declined.

Wall Street was down in early afternoon trade on continuing concerns about a weakening US economy. In addition, there were disappointing forecasts from the banking and semiconductors sectors and comments from Fed officials, including Mr. Bernanke’s remarks, did not inspire confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.47 percent lower in early afternoon trade to 12,079.15 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.2 percent to 2,331.45 and the S&P 500 had dropped 1.35 percent to 1,313.38. Carmakers were down on lower sales figures from February and announced production cuts in the second quarter from both General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F). There were also declines in the pharmaceuticals sector and among mortgage insurers.

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