Trading subdued on most markets
Japan’s exports slid 10.3 per cent, worse than analysts had expected, in September from a year earlier. The drop was the most since May 2011, two months after the earthquake struck Japan’s northeast, triggering a tsunami and a nuclear disaster.
Of the six companies in the Standard and Poors 500 Index to report results today, four had revenue that missed analysts’ estimates, including Caterpillar.
EUROPE
MARKETS IN Europe fell in line with the UK, declining for a second day on Japan’s falling export figures and investors pondered whether that victory for Rajoy in the local elections eased pressure on him to seek a bailout.
The Spanish prime minster’s party extended its majority in the stronghold region of Galicia, winning 41 of the 75 seats in the regional assembly. Yields or interest rates on Spanish bonds rose. The country’s 10-year bond rose 11 basis points, or 0.11 percentage point, to 5.48 per cent, the biggest increase since last week.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.4 per cent at the close, having earlier risen as much as 0.3 per cent. France’s CAC 40 lost 0.6 per cent, while Germany’s DAX dropped 0.7 per cent.
Veolia Environnement fell 5 per cent after denying that it was working on a merger with Suez Environnement. Nexans slid 6.6 per cent after cutting its forecasts.
Royal Philips Electronics climbed the most in more than a year after the world’s largest lighting company reported profit that beat estimates.
Scania advanced 3.2 per cent as the truckmaker’s orders declined at a slower pace.
US
STOCKS IN the US fell, sending the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index toward its biggest three-day decline since July, as investors watched corporate results.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold, the world’s biggest publicly traded copper producer, and SunTrust Banks, retreated at least 2.2 per cent after their earnings missed estimates from analysts. Peabody Energy, the largest US coal producer by volume, rose 11 per cent after earnings exceeded analysts’ projections.
The S&P 500 fell 0.5 per cent at lunchtime in trading in New York while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 per cent.
Technology shares had the only gain in the index among 10 industries, adding 0.2 per cent. Apple jumped 2.5 per cent. The shares had slumped 6.2 per cent over the previous three days. (Additional reporting - Bloomberg, Reuters)
