WOS leads losses on FTSE 100

European equities markets were lower again Tuesday as concerns continued about the possibility of more losses in the financial sector after JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) said that Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) could take as much as $4 billion in write downs related to the credit mess in the third quarter.

In London, the FTSE 100 was down 2.38 percent to 5,320.4 while the FTSE 250 dropped 2.81 percent to 8,867.6.

House builders, the related buildings materials sector and the real estate sector were all lower as Wolseley (LSE: WOS) led decliners on the 100 with a drop of 8.62 percent and house builder Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) had the biggest loss on the 250 as it fell 9.63 percent.

In the real estate sector, declines were led by Brixton (LSE: BXTN), which was down 9.28 percent, with many groups in the sector seeing declines of between 3 percent and 7 percent on the session.

Banks were also lower, while gamers Ladbrokes (LSE: LAD) and William Hill (LSE: WMH) were down 6.85 percent and 5.16 percent respectively, on worries about declines in earnings.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 2.5 percent to 1,159.39 while the Dax was 2.34 percent lower to 6,282.43, the CAC-40 fell 2.61 percent to 4,332.79 and the IBEX dropped 2.93 percent to 11,335.3.

There were only 2 winners on the CAC-40, both in the utilities sector, while on the Dax only pharmaceuticals group Schering (FWB: SCH) saw a gain, adding 0.82 percent.

Swiss chemicals group Ciba (SWX: CIBN) dropped 17 percent on the session after it announced second quarter losses due to a write down and higher prices for raw materials.

Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were lower Tuesday as investors continued to be concerned about losses due to the ongoing credit crisis.

In Tokyo, the Topix index fell to a four-month low as it dropped 2.23 percent to 1,235.54 while the Nikkei 225 was down 2.28 percent to 12,865.05 but the Mothers market of small and mid-caps added 0.38 percent to 444.24.

The Bank of Japan held interest rates at 0.5 percent for the time being, while the announcement of the Bank’s decision called the economy there “sluggish” even as the Bank’s governor insisted that his nation’s economy was not likely to worsen significantly.

Retailers saw declines as Seven & I (TYO: 3382) fell 2.1 percent and department store Matsuya Co. (TYO: 8237) dropped 8.2 percent, while in the electronics sector game maker Nintendo (TYO: 7974; NAS: NTDOY; FWB: NTO) was down 3.3 percent to its lowest in five months while digital camera manufacturer Canon (TYO: 7751; NYSE: CAJ) was 3.8 percent lower.

In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries fell 2.24 percent to 4,930.4 while the S&P/ASX200 dropped 2.38 percent to 4,866.4.

Banks were lower in Australia after Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS; SWX: CSGN) cut its recommendation on National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) from “neutral” to “underperform”, while in the airlines sector Virgin Blue (ASX: NAB) dropped 28 percent after it reported that net income was down 55 percent from last year.

Elsewhere in the region, the Taiex was down 0.32 percent to 6,978.6 while the Sensex fell 0.7 percent to 14,543.73, the Kospi was 1.68 percent lower to 1,541.41, the Straits Times Index was down 1.75 percent to 2,728.39 and the Hang Seng dropped 2.13 percent to 20,484.37.

The Shanghai Composite bucked the trend, adding 1.06 percent on the session to 2,344.47.

In early afternoon trade in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.9 percent lower to 11,376.07 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.01 percent to 2,392.63 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.76 percent to 1,268.93.

The declines came on a report from the Commerce Department that housing starts in July were down to an annual rate of 965,000, the lowest in 17 years despite being higher than forecast, and on a gain of 1.2 percent in the Producer Price index, which was up 0.7 percent even with food and fuel costs excluded from the equation.

Lehman Brothers was down 10.7 percent after the forecast that it will see up to $4 billion in write downs in the third quarter.

Office supply retailers saw declines, with Home Depot (NYSE: HD) down 2.5 percent and Staples (NAS: SPLS) dropping 4.9 percent, while luxury goods retailer Saks (NYSE: SKS) dropped 11.1 percent.

Story link: WOS leads losses on FTSE 100