Updated on
Summary Asian and European stock markets ended mostly lower on Monday.
European stock markets fell on Monday awaiting pivotal debt talks on Greece and after US trading was suspended as Hurricane Sandy bore down on New York.Londons FTSE 100 index of top companies dropped by 0.29 percent in value to stand at 5,790.10 points in afternoon deals. Frankfurts DAX 30 slipped 0.40 percent to 7,202.83 points and in Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.78 percent to 3,408.39. Madrids IBEX 35 gave up 0.86 percent to 7,708.7 points.Equity markets have started the week on the back foot, with some traders no doubt taken aback by the late decision to suspend electronic trading across a number of US exchanges in preparation for hurricane Sandys arrival, said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at data provider Interactive Investor.Economic data, as well as disappointing earnings continue to be the primary concerns for investors with Spanish retail sales sliding sharply in September by 10.9 percent year on year, said CMC Markets UK Senior Analyst Michael Hewson.He put the drop down to higher sales taxes introduced by the government as it strives to cut its spending gap and avoid asking for a bailout.Spanish Prime Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insisted Monday the country had no need for a bailout. In foreign exchange trading, the euro retreated to $1.2901 from $1.2935 late in New York on Friday.Gold prices dipped to $1,712 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, from $1,716 an ounce on Friday. Italy raised 8.0 billion euros ($10.32 billion) in six-month bonds at a lower rate in spite of political unease after threats by ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi to pull support for the government.Rates for six-month Italian paper dropped from 1.503 percent at the last similar operation in September, to 1.347 percent. The auction followed a sale of medium and long-term bonds on Friday, at which the Italian treasury also borrowed 4.0 billion euros at lower rates.European stock markets had closed higher Friday on figures that showed a pick up in the US growth rate, after having taken a hit on Spanish unemployment reaching 25 percent for the first time.On Monday, the US Commerce Department had more good news, reporting consumer spending picked up pace in September, rising by 0.8 percent, sustaining a three month surge.Eyes were back on Greece this week, as eurozone ministers and officials were to hold a series of potentially critical meetings to decide whether Athens had done enough to get its next installment of aid and avoid bankruptcy next month.Ministers were also looking at a Greek request for the terms of its bailout to be extended by two years to 2016, allowing it to spread out the pain of the tough austerity measures it has agreed to in return for help.International auditors would demand that Greece carry out 150 more reforms to its recession-battered economy and suggest that holders of Greek debt take a further hit, German newsweekly Spiegel reported on Sunday.Greek stocks fell by 5.88 percent, led by banking shares, after the finance ministry ordered that that the release of second quarter bank results be postponed by one month as international aid to be used to restructure lenders hasnt arrived.On the corporate front, shares in British publisher Pearson slid 0.57 percent to 1,214 pence after the group agreed to merge its Penguin books unit with English-language rival Random House, owned by German media giant Bertelsmann.Penguin and Random House would combine their businesses in a newly-created joint venture named Penguin Random House, said a statement. Bertelsmann would own 53 percent of the joint venture and Pearson 47 percent.In Paris, shares in auto group PSA Peugeot Citroen fell briefly below 5.0 euros and were at the lowest level since 1985 in response to the groups financial problems and weakness in the world auto market.In the United States, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will be closed completely Monday and possibly also on Tuesday due to the imminent arrival of Hurricane Sandy, its operator said.Asian stock markets ended mostly lower on Monday as the better-than-expected US growth data failed to offset concerns over corporate earnings.
