Morning Movers

The futures were modestly higher prior to the release of economic data, and after the awful housing starts number, the markets turned lower. Dow dropped 58 points, S&P 500 4 points, and Nasdaq fell about 9 points.

SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB), which tracks the homebuilders, was down 18 cents to $17.76 at time of writing.

Continue reading U.S. Markets Open Lower; Asian Markets End Higher

U.S. Markets Open Lower; Asian Markets End Higher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Overseas markets got remarkable worse overnight. The Japanese Nikkei dropped 11.4% to 8,458. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong moved down 6.1% to 15,027. The Shanghai Composite dropped 4.3% to 1,910.

In early trading in Europe, the British FTSE fell 5.8% to to 3,842. The German DAX was off 5.4% to 4,602, and the French CAC 40 dropped 5.9% to 3,182.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Japan market off 11%, rest of global markets mangled originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Pr: at 3,132.37, down 83.87 (-2.61%)
• The FTSE 100 Index: at 5,173.10, down 127.30 (-2.40%)
• The DAX 30: at 6,049.42, down 150.83 (-2.43%)
• The S&P/MIB Index: at 27,059.00, down 689.00 (-2.48%)

• Nikkei 225 Average: closed at 12,754.56, down 255.60 (-1.96%)
  
• The S&P/ASX 200 Index: closed at 4,815.70, down 105.30 (-2.14%)
  
• Hang Seng Index: closed at 21,174.77, down 839.69 (-3.81%)

Foreign markets roundup: Global markets unilaterally drop originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Pr: at 3,227.57, up 39.79 (1.24%)
• The FTSE 100 Index: at 5,360.70, up 99.10 (1.88%)
• The DAX 30: at 6,231.66, up 78.36 (1.27%)
• The S&P/MIB Index: at 27,893.00, up 217.00 (0.78%)

• Nikkei 225 Average: closed at 13,010.16, down 29.53 (-0.23)
  
• The S&P/ASX 200 Index: closed at 4,921.00, down 58.90 (-1.18%)
  
• Hang Seng Index: closed at 22,014.26, down 170.09 (-0.77%)

Foreign markets roundup: European markets up, Asian markets down originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50: at 2,819.21, down -14.51 (-0.51%)
• The FTSE 100 Index: at 5,391.40, down -15.40 (-0.28%)
• The DAX 30: at 6,234.31, down -70.69 (-1.12%)
• The S&P/MIB Index: at 28,590.00, down -181.00 (-0.63%)

• Singapore Straits Times: closed at 2,926.84, up 25.26 (0.87%)
  
• Nikkei 225 Average: closed at 13,039.69, down 27.52 (0.21%)
  
• The S&P/ASX 200 Index: closed at 4,979.90, up 42.50 (0.86%)
  
• Hang Seng Index: closed at 22,184.25, up 362.77 (1.66%)

Foreign markets round-up: European indexes down; Asia Pacific mixed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The Dow Jones Euro Stoxx: closed at 3,293.85, down -48.63 (-1.45%)
• The FTSE 100 Index: closed at 5,435.70, down -93.90 (-1.70%)
• The CAC 40 Index: closed at 4,258.26, down -81.40 (-1.88%)
• the S&P/MIB Index: closed at 28,590.00, down -181.00 (-0.63%)

• The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index: virtually flat at 132.05 after a drop of about 0.6%. Tech stocks were the decliners, while financial stocks were the advancers
• Nikkei 225 Average: up to 13,067.21, a gain of 0.1%. Singapore's economy expanded at the slowest pace in five years while New Zealand's manufacturing industry shrunk for the third time in four months in June. Said Chua Hak Bin with Deutsche Bank Private Wealth, "We think growth will be sub-par until the end of next year and there are signs the slowdown in the U.S. is broadening." Mitsushige Akino with Ichiyoshi Investment Management in Tokyo added, "Investors have realized there's no reason to sell Japanese banks based on the U.S. credit crisis ... they've been picking up more business overseas.''
• Hang Seng Index: up to 21,821.78, a climb of 0.073%. The Hang Seng's decline since November's high of over 31,000 isn't showing any decent recovery as of late. No surprise there.

Foreign markets round-up: European markets slump, Asian makets steady originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Most markets in Asia sold off sharply.

The Nikkei fell 4.5% to 12,992. Canon was down 5.2% to 4570 yen. Honda (NYSE:HMC) was down 5.8% to 3070. Toyota (NYSE:TM) was down 3.3% to 5560.

The Hang Seng dropped 3.1% to 23,585. China Netcom (NYSE:CN) fell 23.5 yuan. PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) fell 4.9% to 11.26.

The Shanghai Composite moved up 2.1% to 4,438.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Big drops in most Asian markets, Nikkei off 4.5% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Markets in Asia fell:

The Nikkei traded down 4% to 13,088. Sony (NYSE: SNE) fell 4.5% to 4,880. Toyota (NYSE: TM) fell 4.1% to 5,340.

The Hang Seng fell 4.3% 24,054. China Life (NYSE: LFC) fell 6.3% to 31.40. PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) fell 5.7% to 11.2.

The Shanghai Composite dropped 7.2% to 4,419.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Asia falls, Shanghai off over 7% (TM, SNE, LFC, PTR) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The proverbial wisdom is that diversification across various asset classes and regions of the world protects against volatility and big losses: when one is down big, the others will pick up the slack, and your actual loss won't be so bad after all. Marketwatch reported on the performance of international markets in the most recent trading session:

India: Down about 16% since Friday's close.

Japan: Down about 5.7% on the day.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng: Down 8.7%.

Australia: Down 7.1%.

France: Down 6.8% on Monday.

Germany's blue-chip DAX 30: Down 7.2%.

I could go on, but the point is that all of these markets appear to be tumbling on concerns about a U.S. recession. Here's my question: Has globalization made our markets so interconnected that global diversification no longer does much to reduce volatility?

It may well be that investors hell-bent on avoiding volatility ; there's an argument that if investors can just control their emotions, volatility isn't such a big deal. There may need to look to other sources for diversification, such as currrency, commodities, etc.

Just a thought.

Global sell-off raises questions about the value of diversification originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As bad news mounts and fears grow about the impending recession, stock markets dropped around the world in Monday trading. Adding to the woes, analysts expect that the Bank of China may have to write off at least 25% of its $8 billion [subscription required] mortgage securities holdings in the U.S. Prior to these reports, the bank had only admitted to the need for a $322 million provision for losses, according to today's Wall Street Journal.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index took its steepest fall since its Sept. 11, 2001 tumble, dropping 4.2%. Since it reached its 6 1/2 year high in June, the index has dropped 22%. A drop of more than 20% puts this market officially into bear territory.

Other key losers today include:

• France's CAC 40 lost 5.1%
  
• UK's FTSE 100 dropped 4%
• Germany's DAX went down 5.9%
• MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 3.7% and the MCSI Emerging Markets Index fell 5.1%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gave up 5.5%
• Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 5.1%

With this type of global bloodbath, expect U.S. stocks to tank when they reopen tomorrow. They are closed today for the holiday. Investors are seeking safe havens in bonds and currencies.

Lita Epstein has written more than 20 books including "Trading for Dummies."

Worldwide stock markets decline originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

China is beginning to admit that slow growth in the U.S. would be a significant enough drag to badly damage its exports and hurt its economy. "If U.S. consumption really comes down, that's bad news for us. That will have a pretty severe impact on our exports," Zhang Tao, deputy head of the international department of the People's Bank of China, told a group including Reuters.

Any slowdown is likely to hit the Chinese stock markets hard. Despite a recent pullback, the Hang Seng Index is up over 60% in the last two years while the S&P has barely risen. The Shanghai Composite is up over 300% during that period.

Downward pressure on China shares could affect many stocks listed in the U.S. Among the most vulnerable are probably those that have risen the fastest. That would include Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), which is up about 130% in the last year, and China Mobile (NYSE: CHL), which is up over 70%.

If a U.S. recession hits China, the markets there may have seen their best days.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

China says slower U.S. growth could knock it down originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Markets in Asia took a beating as the Hong Kong Hang Seng fell 5%. Key China stocks moved down sharply. China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) fell 7%. China Petroleum (NYSE:SNP) fell over 10%.

The Shanghai Composite fell 2.5%.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Flash: Asia markets pulled down as Hang Seng falls 5% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Markets in China jumped up.

The Hong Kong Hang Seng rose 3.4% to 31,449 lead by telecom shares. China Unicom (NYSE:CHU) rose 8.2% to 18.42.

The Shanghai Composite moved up 2.8% to 5,748.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Flash: China markets move up sharply originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 04:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Hang Seng rose 2% to 29,133. China Petroleum (NYSE: SNP) was up over 11%. Hang Seng Bank rose over 7%

The Shanghai Composite rose 2.5% to 5,913, a record.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Flash: Sharp rise in Asia markets, China Petroleum up over 11% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Markets in Asia rung up tremendous gains after a rate cut by the US Federal Reserave.

Share in Tokyo rose 3.7% and in Hond Kong the Hang Seng index was up 4.3%. According to Reuters, the gain in Japan's Nikkei was the largest in a single day since 2002.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 247wallst.com

Flash: Markets make huge gains across Asia originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.