HBOS drops 18.87 to lead UK banks lower

European equities markets were lower Monday after the Confederation of British Industry predicted that the UK’s gross domestic product will drop by 1.7 percent next year, making the British economy look worse than had been supposed.

In London the FTSE 100 was down 2.38 percent to 4,132.16 while the FTSE 250 dropped 2.46 percent to 5,977.03.

Banks were lower on the 100 as HBOS (LSE: HBOS) turned in the worst performance on the index with a decline of 18.87 percent while Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) fell 12.35 percent and Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY) dropped 10.24 percent.

Miners were lower as copper miner Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ)dropped 11.86 percent, International Ferro (LSE: IFL) was down 10.59 percent, and diamond miners Gem Diamonds (LSE: GEMD) dropped 38.12 percent for the worst performance of the day on the 250.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 2.75 percent to 835.93 as the Dax fell 3.25 percent to 4,557.27, the CAC-40 was 3.32 percent lower to 3,182.03 and the IBEX dropped 3.77 percent to 8,498.8.

Banks were lower on the CAC-40 as Dexia (Euronext: DX) fell 4.52 percent, Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) was down 7.26 percent and BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) dropped 8.09 for the worst day on the index, which saw only three gainers on the session.

There were only three gainers on the Dax as well, including carmaker BMW (FWB: BMW), which added 1.1 percent, while Volkswagen (FWB: VOW) was the worst performer of the day with a decline of 7.43 percent and airline Lufthansa (FWB: LHA) dropped 5.21 percent.

Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed Monday, but most were lower on falling oil prices as Japan officially said that its economy has entered a recession following a similar announcement on Friday by Hong Kong.

Despite the news from the Japanese government after its gross domestic product dropped 0.4 percent on an annualized basis in the third quarter, Japan’s equities markets saw gains on the session as the Nikkei 225 added 0.71 percent to 8,522.58, the Topix index was up 0.42 percent to 850.49 and the Mothers market gained 1.4 percent to 328.18.

Drugmakers saw gains as Takeda Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4502) was 2.8 percent higher, Tsumura & Co. (TYO: 4540) added 3.4 percent and Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568) gained 5.4 percent, while in the railway sector Central Japan Railway (TYO: 9022) was up 5.9 percent and West Japan Railway added 6 percent.

Real estate developers, however, were lower as rents in Tokyo declined, with Mitsui Fudosan (TYO: 8801; NAS: MDSFF) down 5.2 percent while Mitsubishi Estate (TYO: 8802) dropped 5.4 percent.

The other main gainer in the region was the Shanghai Composite, which added 2.22 percent to 2,030.48.

Elsewhere, the Hang Seng was down 0.1 percent to 13,529.53, the Taiex fell 0.29 percent to 4,439.8, the Straits Times Index was 0.54 percent lower to 1,749.67, the Kospi was down 0.91 percent to 1,978.32 and the Sensex dropped 1.01 percent to 9,291.01.

In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries fell 2.32 percent to 3,693.5 while the S&P/ASX200 dropped 2.54 percent to 3,653.

Falling oil prices sent BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP; LSE: BLT) 4.9 percent lower while Japanese oil company Inpex (TYO: 1605) fell 3.4 percent.

Chinese airlines did better on the session after the government said it will put money into their parent companies, with China Eastern Airlines (SSE: 600115; SEHK: 0670; NYSE: CEA) adding 10 percent while China Southern Airlines (SEHK: 1055; SSE: 600029; NYSE: ZHN) gained 12 percent in Hong Kong.

In early afternoon trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.77 percent lower to 8,431.6 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.68 percent to 1,506.49 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.59 percent to 868.14.

DIY retailer Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) was up 6.64 percent after it reported third-quarter profits that were higher than had been anticipated and even though it cut its full-year outlook.

Home Depot (NYSE: HD), on the other hand, dropped 1.22 percent by early afternoon after it also cut its full-year forecast, citing the drop in home prices and gains in unemployment.

In the banking sector, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) had dropped 5.6 percent after it said it would increase its stake in China Construction Bank (SEHK: 0939; SSE: 601939) from 10.75 percent to 19.1 percent.

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