Bourse

Bourse

US market indices lose

15 January 2009 08:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev - APA-Economics. Economic fears translated to losses in equity markets. The Dow slid 248.42, or 2.94 per cent to 8,200.14, while the broader S&P 500 lost 29.17, or 3.35 per cent to 842.62. The NASDAQ was down 58.82, or 3.67 per cent to 1,489.64.
The financial sector was battered on concerns about their European counterparts after Deutsche Bank announced losses and HSBC was forced to raise capital. There were also home grown concerns surrounding Citigroup.
In other economic news, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, a summary of US economic activity. The report detailed ongoing deterioration in the US economy in December and early January.
British stocks sank almost 5 per cent on Wednesday. A broker downgrade on HSBC saw the bank lead the market lower as doom and gloom rattled investors.
The FTSE 100 fell 218.51, or 4.97 per cent to 4,180.64.
France’s CAC 40 sank 145.89, or 4.56 per cent to 3,052, while Germany’s DAX fell 214.59, or 4.63 per cent to 4,422.35.
In light trade, the Nikkei climbed slightly higher on Wednesday despite continued nervousness from investors over company earnings. The bright point for the market was the rebound for exporters and tech firms.
The Nikkei closed 24.54 points higher, or 0.29 per cent to 8,438.45. The big movers included Toshiba and Fujitsu after Toshiba revealed it was in talks to buy Fujitsu’s hard-disk drive business. Both finished the day over 5 per cent higher.