Global markets mixed on session

Equities markets in the Asia Pacific region saw their biggest first quarter declines since 1992 on concerns that drops in US consumer spending will hurt exports in the region. Australia’s markets saw their largest quarterly decline since 1987 despite slight gains on the day, with the S&P/ASX200 adding 0.09 percent to 5,355.7 while the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.16 percent to 5,409.7. The Kospi index was also higher, climbing 0.13 percent to 1,703.99 in South Korea. Decliners on the session included Taiwan’s Taiex, which was down 0.59 percent to 8,572.59. The Straits Times Index was 0.81 percent lower to 3,007.36 while the Hang Seng fell 1.88 percent to 22,849.2. The Shanghai Composite was down 3 percent to 3,472.71 and the Sensex dropped 4.44 percent to 15,644.44.

Tokyo’s markets had their worst first quarter since 1989, again on worries that exports will be hurt by problems in the US economy. The Nikkei was down 2.3 percent on the session to 12,525.54 while the Topix index was 2.48 percent lower to 1,212.96 and the Mothers market dropped 1.5 percent to 620.9. Banks were down on the news that Swiss bank UBS could need more capital after customer withdrawals. Cars, tire makers, and traders were all also lower, while the semiconductors sector saw gains on news that at leat one component within the sector will be raising chip prices.

Europe’s equities markets were mixed on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.4 percent to 1,260.39. The Dax was down 0.38 percent to 6,534.97 while the IBEX fell 1.29 percent to 13,269. The exception was the Paris CAC-40, which added 0.24 percent to 4,707.07 on the session. Banks and the telecommunications sector were lower, as were insurers. Chipmakers and the aerospace sector saw gains while utilities and the steel sector were also higher.

Equities were higher in London. The FTSE 100 was up 0.16 percent to 5,702.1 while the FTSE 250 gained 0.52 percent to 10,013.2. The pharmaceuticals sector saw gains after one company said it was halting trials on a cholesterol drug because it had already produced “unequivocal” proof of its effectiveness. Both the mining and real estate sectors were mostly higher. Banks were mixed, while insurers, retailers, and the media sector were all mostly lower on the session.

Wall Street ended the session higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.38 percent to 12,262.89 while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.79 percent to 2,279.1 and the S&P 500 was 0.57 percent higher to 1,322.7. Despite the day’s gains, the Dow ended the first quarter down by 7.55 percent while the Nasdaq dropped 14.07 percent in the quarter and the S&P ended the quarter 9.92 percent lower. The session’s results were helped by the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index which, while remaining below the 50 percent level that marks the threshold between expansion and contraction among manufacturing activity, was up more than had been anticipated at 48.2 in March. The Dow’s gains on the session were held in check by declines in the pharmaceuticals sector after the New England Journal of Medicine called into the question the effectiveness of two cholesterol drugs and said that doctors should return to more established and effective methods for treating high cholesterol.

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