DIY retailers KFG, HOME see declines on sales

Equities markets in Europe declined Thursday on concerns about earnings in the retail and financial sectors.

In London the FTSE 100 was down 0.89 percent to 5,318.4 while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.03 percent to 8,874.9.

Most retailers were lower, with DIY retailers down on declines in sales as Kingfisher (LSE: KFG) dropped 5.38 percent and Home Retail Group (LSE: HOME) dropped 5.69 percent as sales as its Argos stores were down 5.8 percent in the quarter ending August 30 and sales at its Homebase stores fell 8.3 percent during the same period.

Supermarkets were also lower, with J Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY) down 5.93 percent as Mw Morrison dropped 6.11 percent to lead declines on the 100.

Banks and airlines were both lower while commodities-related shares led gains on both indices as Anglo American (LSE: AAL) was up 5.15 percent on the 100 and Premier Oil (LSE: PMO) gained 6.79 percent on the 250.

Elsewhere in Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.65 percent to 1,140.71 as the IBEX was down 0.4 percent to 11,136.5, the Dax fell 0.51 percent to 6,178.9 and the CAC-40 dropped 0.81 percent to 4,249.07.

Asia-Pacific equities markets were lower as well as credit market concerns continue and investors worry about how the state of the global economy will impact demand for Asian exports.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.98 percent to 12,102.5 while the Topix index fell 2.49 percent to 1,162.72 and the Mothers market dropped 3.12 percent to 424.23.

Brokers declined after Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LSE) announced that it lost $3.9 billion in the third quarter, with Nomura (TYO: 8604; NYSE: NMR; SGX: N33) falling 5.9 percent and Shinko Securities (TYO: 8606) down 6.6 percent.

The news that equipment orders in Japan were down 3.9 percent in July from June sent manufacturers such as Sumitomo Heavy Industries (TYO: 6302) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (TYO: 7011) down 5.3 percent and 5.5 percent respectively.

Sectors as diverse as banks and papermakers saw declines on the session.

Elsewhere in the region, the Kospi was 1.48 percent lower to 1,443.24 while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries fell 1.81 percent to 4,871.5 and the S&P/ASX200 was down 1.86 percent to 4,814.3.

The Sensex dropped 2.31 percent to 14,324.29, the Hang Seng was down 3.06 percent to 19,388.72, the Straits Times Index fell 3.1 percent to 2,541.15, the Taiex was 3.19 percent lower to 6,251.95 and the Shanghai Composite dropped 3.34 percent to 2,078.98.

Wall Street was down in early afternoon trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.69 percent lower to 11,191.16 while the Nasdaq Composite had fallen 0.27 percent to 2,222.78 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.62 percent to 1,224.44.

In the insurance sector, American International Group (NYSE: AIG) was down 13.31 percent as investors worried that the world’s largest insurer does not have sufficient capital reserves and amid calls for it to sell or spin off some of its assets.

Oil companies also saw declines, with Chevron (NYSE: CVX) down 0.64 percent as ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) dropped 1.18 percent.

Story link: DIY retailers KFG, HOME see declines on sales