GS, LEH comments send Asia-Pacific equities lower

Most Asia-Pacific equities markets saw declines Tuesday on broker comments recommending the sale of shares in banks.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) advised investors to sell bank shares due to more losses related to the credit crisis while Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) said that Japanese consumer finance company Aiful (TYO: 8515) could be insolvent.

Australian markets saw gains, with the S&P/ASX200 adding 0.12 percent to 5,290 and the Sydney Ordinaries gaining 0.18 percent to 5,418.8, while the Shanghai Composite was 1.54 percent higher to 2,803.2.

On the other hand, South Korea’s Kospi index was down 0.28 percent to 1,710.84 while the Straits Times Index was 0.57 percent lower to 2,962.16, the Hang Seng fell 1.14 percent to 22,456.02, the Sensex dropped 1.31 percent to 14,106.58, and the Taiex was down 1.76 percent to 7,738.12.

In Tokyo, the Topix index added 0.09 percent to 1,349.19 but the Nikkei 225 fell 0.06 percent to 13,849.56 and the Mothers market dropped 2.09 percent to 582.66.

While traders were up in Tokyo, carmakers, tire makers, the steel sector and pharmaceuticals groups were all lower on the session.

European markets also saw declines.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.71 percent to 1,214.25 while the Dax was 0.81 percent lower to 6,536.06 in Frankfurt, the Paris CAC-40 fell 0.83 percent to 4,472.76 and Madrid’s IBEX dropped 1.59 percent to 12,205.6.

Telecoms, airlines, banks, and the pharmaceuticals sector were all higher, while utilities, retailers, and the semiconductors sector saw declines.

Most carmakers were down, but Peugeot (Euronext: UG) led gainers on the CAC-40.

In London, the FTSE 100 was 0.57 percent lower to 5,634.7 while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.38 percent to 9,192.3.

The real estate sector was lower, led down by house builders Taylor Wimpy (LSE: TW) and Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) with declined of 12 percent and 11 percent respectively, after the British Bankers Association reported that mortgage approvals were down 20 percent in May from April’s numbers and had dropped 56 percent from the same period last year.

Banks were mostly up in London and the oil sector was mixed, but most miners, the retail sector and utilities were all lower on the session.

Wall Street was a bit higher in afternoon trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.28 percent to 11,874.93 while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.23 percent higher to 2,391.33 and the S&P 500 gained 0.36 percent to 1,322.78.

The gains came despite new data showing consumer confidence down as crude oil prices dropped slightly in afternoon trade.

Banks were up, as were mortgage insurers, which saw gains in the afternoon after early losses on the news home prices were down again in April.

Story link: GS, LEH comments send Asia-Pacific equities lower