CTT loses almost 75 percent on session

European equities markets saw substantial losses Friday on renewed worries about the economy in general and on concerns about the financial sector in particular.

The FTSE 100 dropped 3.22 percent to 3,889.06 in London, closing below 4,000 for the first time in three months, while the FTSE 250 was down 3.36 percent to 6,008.82.

Consumer finance group Cattles (LSE: CTT) was by far the worst performer on the session in London as it plummeted 73.58 percent after it warned that its full-year profits will be much lower than had been anticipated.

Banks were lower, led by Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) with a decline of 11.47 percent.

Most insurers also declined on the day, but Prudential (LSE: PRU; NYSE: PUK) turned in the best performance on the 100 with a gain of 11.11 percent as Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) was up 1.95 percent, and Aviva (LSE: AV) was 1.31 percent higher on the session.

Miners were mostly down, led lower by Anglo American (LSE: AAL) with a decline of 16.91 percent for the worst performance on the 100, but gold and silver miner Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) added 8.9 percent for the only gain in the sector and the best showing of the day on the 250.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 3.67 percent to 735.74 while the IBEX fell 3.46 percent to 7,603.6, the CAC-40 was 4.25 percent lower to 2,750.55 and the Dax dropped 4.76 percent to 4,014.66.

There was only one gainer each on the CAC-40 and the Dax as eyeglass-lens maker Essilor International (Euronext: EF) added 0.95 percent and Fresenius Medical Care (FWB: FREG) gained 0.5 percent.

Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) had the worst day on the Dax with a decline of 9.58 percent while insurer Axa (Euronext: CS; NYSE: AXA) was the worst performer on the CAC-40 as it dropped 18.41 percent.

Most Asia-Pacific markets were also lower on the session.

In Tokyo, the Topix index had its lowest close in 25 years as it dropped 1.6 percent to 739.53 while the Nikkei 225 was down 1.87 percent to 7,416.38 and the Mothers market dropped 1.61 percent to 297.3.

Retiler Seven & I (TYO: 3382) dropped 5.5 percent on the news that the Fair Trade Commission is investigating its Seven-Eleven stores for possible violations of anti-monopoly regulations.

The FTC said that Seven & I is cooperating in the investigation.

Insurer T&D Holdings (TYO: 8795), on the other hand, added 11.9 percent after it said it would issue new shares in order to raise more capital.

In Australia the Sydney Ordinaries fell 1.32 percent to 3,353 while the S&P/ASX200 was down 1.35 percent to 3,402.4.

Taiwan’s Taiex was 2.03 percent lower to 4,436.94, the Straits Times Index was down 2.11 percent to 1,594.94, the Sensex fell 2.21 percent to 8,843.21 in India, the Hang Seng dropped 2.42 percent to 1,765.52, and South Korea’s Kospi was down 3.72 percent to 1,065.95.

In China, the Shanghai Composite added 1.54 percent to 2,261.48.

New York markets were also lower in afternoon trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.26 percent to 7,297.09 at just past 2 p.m. in New York while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.38 percent lower to 1,422.87 and the S&P 500 had dropped 2.36 percent to 760.56.

Banks were hurt by investor concerns that their investments could be lost if the US government should decide to nationalize the banks.

The fears came even though Bank of America’s chairman and chief executive told bank executives on Thursday that he has been assured that nationalization is not a possibility.

In afternoon trade, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) had dropped 3.25 percent while Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was down 9.92 percent, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) had fallen 15.24 percent and Citigroup (NYSE: C) was 21.51 percent lower.

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