RMV falls after issuing house price report

European equities markets declined Monday after house prices in the UK declined, which hurt banks and retailers and renewed concerns that the UK could be close to recession.

Rising crude oil prices also hurt markets before prices retreated again later in the US session.

In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.08 percent to 5,450.2 while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.77 percent to 9,124.

The bearer of the bad news about house prices, internet house-price tracker Rightmove (LSE: RMV) was down 4.45 percent while house builders saw declines as Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) was 5.59 percent lower, Persimmon (LSE: PSN) fell 5.61 percent, and Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) dropped 7.43 percent.

The real estate sector also saw declines, as did banks, the travel and leisure sector, and most retailers, led by Debenhams (LSE: DEB) with a decline of 5.56 percent.

Banks were also hurt by new speculations that US mortgage lenders Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) might require a US government bailout.

Miners were mixed after BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP) reported that its profits were up 30 percent in its fiscal second half, allowing it to hike its full-year dividend by 49 percent, while the oil sector saw gains.

Among other European markets, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.09 percent to 1,189.15 as Madrid’s IBEX fell 0.07 percent to 11,677.5, the Paris CAC-40 was 0.11 percent lower to 4,448.84 and the Dax dropped 0.2 percent to 6,432.88 in Frankfurt.

Oil group Total (Euronext: FP; NYSE: TOT) led winners in Paris with a gain of 1.81 percent, and the steel and telecommunications sectors saw gains, but banks, airlines, chipmakers, and aerospace manufacturers all declined.

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed Monday, with markets in Tokyo and Australia seeing gains while most others saw declines, although Pakistan’s exchange in Karachi added 4.49 percent after the nation’s president resigned amid impeachment threats.

Tokyo’s markets were up on broker comments about manufacturers and as concerns receded that stricter lending rules might lead to a surge in bankruptcies.

The Nikkei 225 was up 1.12 percent to 13,165.45 while the Topix index added 1.32 percent to 1,263.75 and the Mothers market of small and mid-caps gained 0.92 percent to 442.58.

Among manufacturers, construction equipment maker Komatsu (TYO: 6301) added 3.8 percent, while banks, the real estate and telecommunications sectors, steel makers and oil refiners all saw gains.

Nippon Sharyo (TYO: 7102) added 30 percent after Central Japan Railway (TYO: 9022) expressed interest in taking a majority share in the train manufacturer.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was 0.07 percent higher to 4,985 while the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.09 percent to 5,043.5.

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi index was down 0.28 percent to 1,667.71 while India’s Sensex was 0.53 percent lower to 14,645.66, the Straits Times Index fell 0.73 percent to 2,776.98 and the Hang Seng dropped 1.09 percent to 20,930.67.

In Taiwan, the Taiex was down 2.72 percent to 7,000.74, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 5.34 percent to 2,319.87, continuing declines on fears that the government in China will not do much to improve market conditions.

Despite the declines in China, China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation (SSE: 601766) added 58 percent on its introduction in Shanghai.

In early afternoon trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.45 percent lower to 11,490.38 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.15 percent to 2,424.29 and the S&P 500 had dropped 1.16 percent to 1,283.1.

The retreat came on declines in the financial sector as investors worried about the possibility of a bailout for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and as they also worried about a report that Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) could suffer a big loss in the third quarter, and as trading volumes remained low in New York as they were in European markets.

The report on Lehman Brothers send it down 4.2 percent, while Freddie Mac fell 17.6 percent and Fannie Mae dropped 17.8 percent.

However, San Francisco-based UnionBanCal (NYSE: UB) added 11.9 percent after Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306; NYSE: MTU) hiked its bid for the portion of UnionBanCal it does not already own.

Story link: RMV falls after issuing house price report