LLOY drops 10 percent, leads banks lower

European equities markets were mostly lower Tuesday as banks saw declines in London and elsewhere after Credit Suisse (SWX: CSGN; NYSE: CS) issued a warning on UK banks.

London’s markets were mixed as the FTSE 250 added 0.18 percent to 7,623.92 but the FTSE 100 dropped 0.22 percent to 4,425.54.

Lloyds Banking Group led both the sector and the 100 lower as it dropped 10.27 percent, while Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642) fell 6.45 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) was 5.64 percent lower.

Miners were mixed as Lonmin (LSE: LMI) was down 8.56 percent and Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) fell 6.94 percent on the 100 and Ferrexpo (LSE: FXPO) was down 5.45 percent on the 250, but Fresnillo (LSE: FRES) had the best day on the 100 as it gained 4.82 percent and Talvivaara Mining (LSE: TALV) led the mining sector with an advance of 5.46 percent.

Supermarkets did well as Tesco (LSE: TSCO) was up 3.68 percent and Wm Morrison (LSE: MRW) was 4.13 percent higher on the session.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.16 percent to 853.17 while the Dax fell 0.26 percent to 4,854.11, the IBEX was 0.51 percent lower to 9,269 and the CAC-40 dropped 0.54 percent to 3,231.1.

Among banks in the region, Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) fell 3.13 percent, Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) was down 3.33 percent, Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) dropped 3.89 percent and UBS (SWX: UBSN; NYSE: UBS; TYO: 8657) was 7.3 percent lower.

The worst performances on the Dax came from the steel sector where Salzgitter (FWB: SZG) was down 5.13 percent and ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: TKA) led decliners there as it dropped 6.43 percent.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed.

Tokyo’s markets were lower on disappointing forecasts, with the Nikkei 225 down 1.62 percent to 9,298.61 while the Topix index fell 1.67 percent to 885.43 and the Mothers market dropped 0.83 percent to 352.07.

Forecasts, expectations about forecasts to come and a stronger yen sent the automobile manufacturing sector lower as Mazda (TYO: 7261) fell 4.6 percent on reports, later substantiated, that it would forecast big losses in the fiscal year, while Isuzu (TYO: 7202) dropped 7.3 percent after it said it will likely suffer its second full-year loss in a row.

Banks and insurers were also lower on the session, while glassmasker Asahi (TYO: 5201) added 12 percent despite losses in the first quarter after it received a broker upgrade.

Other decliners in the region included South Korea’s Kospi, which dropped 0.82 percent to 1,403.51.

In Australia the Sydney Ordinaries fell 1.2 percent to 3,863.6 and the S&P/ASX200 was down 1.24 percent to 3,877.2, while Taiwan’s Taiex, which was 3.23 percent lower to 6,432.55.

The Hang Seng was up 0.38 percent to 17,153.64 while the Straits Times Index added 0.56 percent, the Shanghai Composite was 1.49 percent higher to 2,618.17 and the Sensex gained 4.07 percent to 12,158.03.

New York markets were lower in early afternoon trade as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.32 percent to 8,391.46, the Nasdaq Composite was 1.78 percent lower to 1,700.51 and the S&P 500 had dropped 1.11 percent to 899.16.

Hurting the Dow was General Motors (NSYE: GM), which dropped 21.53 percent in afternoon trade a day after six company executives said they had sold over $300,000 worth of stock in the carmaker and had liquidated other holdings.

The statement was taken as another sign that GM will either declare bankruptcy soon or will restructure in such a way that the value of existing stock will be wiped out.

Story link: LLOY drops 10 percent, leads banks lower