Travel agents TT, TCG lead declines on FTSE 100

European equities markets saw another day of sharp declines on concerns that US and European bailout plans will not be enough to hold off a recession.

The FTSE 100 was down 5.35 percent to 3,861.39 in London while the FTSE 250 dropped 5.43 percent to 6,342.71.

The biggest declines on the 100 came in the travel sector, where TUI Travel (LSE: TT) dropped 22.16 percent and Thomas Cook (LSE: TCG) was down 23.26 percent.

Insurers were also lower, with Prudential (LSE: PRU; NYSE: PUK) falling 19.53 percent while Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) was 12.64 percent lower.

Four of the top five gainers on the 100 were in the utilities sector, while winners on the 250 were led by Investment management group Rathbone Brothers (LSE: RAT), which added 10.23 percent.

Losers on the 250 were led by home improvement retailer Travis Perkins (LSE: TPK) which dropped 31.34 percent.

The Eurofirst 300 was down 5.01 percent to 858.41 while the IBEX fell 4.11 percent to 9,308.2, the Dax was 4.91 percent lower to 4,622.81 and the CAC-40 dropped 5.92 percent to 3,181.

One of the factors affecting European markets was a cut in Germany’s growth forecast for 2009, which was put at 0.2 percent for the year, down from an earlier estimate that the German economy would grow by 1.2 percent next year.

There were only four winners on the CAC-40, led by Air France-KLM (Euronext: AF; NYSE: AKH) with a gain of 5.34 percent, while Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) added 1.01 percent on the Dax.

Insurers were lower, with Allianz (FWB: ALV; NYSE: AZ) down 8.51 percent while Axa (Euronext: CS; NYSE: AXA) led declines on the CAC-40 as it dropped 12.51 percent on negative broker comment from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS).

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region declined again on continuing concerns that a recession is just around the corner for the global economy, if not already here.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 11.41 percent to 8,458.45 while the Topix index fell 9.52 percent to 864.52 and the Mothers market of small and mid-caps dropped 4.02 percent to 303.87.

Shares were lower on the US report that retail sales there dropped by 1.2 percent in September, raising concerns that exports to the States could decline.

Honda Motor (TYO: 7267; NYSE: HMC), which gets a majority of its profits from the US, dropped 10 percent while rival Toyota (TYO: 7203; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) was down 9.3 percent.

In the electronics sector, game maker Nintendo (TYO: 7974; NAS: NTDOY; FWB: NTO) was down 10 percent while Sony (TYO: 6758; NYSE: SNE) fell 13 percent, while construction machinery manufacturers Komatsu (TYO: 6301) and Hitachi Construction Machinery (TYO: 6305) dropped 15 percent and 18 percent respectively.

The steel sector saw declines in the 9 percent to 15 percent range after UBS (NYSE: UBS: SWX: UBSN; TYO: 8657) cut its recommendation on the sector from “buy” to “neutral”, while traders were lower as well.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso criticized the United States for not doing more to boost investor confidence, telling parliament that continuing stock sell offs are the result of investor sentiment that US help for banks is not enough to avoid recession in the world’s biggest economy.

Elsewhere in the region India’s Sensex was down 2.11 percent to 10,581.49 while the Taiex fell 3.25 percent to 5,075.97, the Shanghai Composite was 4.25 percent lower to 1,909.94, the Hang Seng was down 4.8 percent to 15,230.52 and the Straits Times Index dropped 5.25 percent to 1,951.2.

In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries fell 6.66 percent to 3,988.1 and the S&P/ASX200 was down 6.67 percent to 4,013.4 while in South Korea the Kospi dropped 9.44 percent to 1,213.78.

Commodities-related shares were down again as prices for crude oil and metals continued to fall on investor concerns that recession, believed by some to have already arrived, will cut demand.

Chinese oil company CNOOC (SEHK: 0883; NYSE: CEO) was down 8.9 percent in Hong Kong while BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP; LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP) fell 13 percent, Japanese oil company Inpex (TYO: 1605) was 14 percent lower, and miner Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO; LSE: RIO; NYSE: RTP) dropped 16 percent on the news that it will shut units of some aluminium plants.

At just past 1:30 p.m. in New York, markets were lower in a day that saw the indexes fluctuate between gains and losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial average was 1.22 percent lower at 1:35 p.m., to 8,473.65, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.06 percent to 1,627.39 and the S&P 500 had dropped 1.12 percent to 897.67.

Coal miner Peabody Energy Group (NYSE: BTU) had added 10.6 percent in early afternoon trade after it reported that its net income and revenues were up by more than had been anticipated in the third quarter, with revenues at $1.9 billion in the quarter and net income up to $369 million.

Airlines, meanwhile, saw gains on declining oil prices.

Northwest (NYSE: NWA) was up 14.67 percent while Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) had added 15.58 percent, US Airways (NYSE: LCC) was 18.53 percent higher and UAL, parent of United Airlines (NAS: UAUA) had gained 21.11 percent.

Most banks and the oil sector saw declines.

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