US jobless data drives global markets down

Global equity markets swooned and bond prices slid yesterday after slowly improving US jobs data and gains in consumer prices added weight to the view the Federal Reserve will soon begin to trim its massive bond-buying programme.
DUBLIN
The Iseq lost 1.5 per cent yesterday, broadly in line with markets across Europe and driven in the main by economic data from the US.

Ryanair fell 3 per cent in line with the broader aviation sector but it generally outperformed its peers. Rising oil prices have affected the industry.

CRH lost almost 2 per cent, reflective of losses in the wider sector. Bank of Ireland closed down 3 per cent, bringing to an end its recent good run which saw it climbing by about 50 per cent since the end of June.

C&C was down 1.5 per cent with light volumes. Smurfit Kappa remained unchanged at €14.95 and continues to benefit from an increase in prices for recycled products.
LONDON
UK stocks fell to their lowest level since July 8th as AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline dropped on broker downgrades, outweighing a report that showed British retail sales climbed last month more than projected.

AstraZeneca dropped to a six-week low as Morgan Stanley recommended investors sell the shares. GlaxoSmithKline fell 1.4 per cent.

Ophir Energy slumped 15 per cent to 332 pence, its lowest price in more than 17 months. The energy company posted a $19.4 million loss for the first six months of this year.

BG Group lost 2.4 per cent to 1,178 pence due to ongoing trouble in Egypt, which accounted for about 15 per cent of its earnings from continuing operations in 2012.

Imperial Tobacco Group rose 2.6 per cent to 2,209 pence. The company maintained its earnings guidance for the full year even as sales dropped. Europe's second-biggest tobacco company said it planned to introduce an alternative to cigarettes next year.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included Imperial Tobacco, Admiral, 12p stronger to 1279p, and Eurasian Natural Resources, up 0.8p to 230.1p. The biggest fallers were Persimmon, down 87p to 1097p, TUI Travel, 21p lower to 362.7p, Travis Perkins, 75p weaker to 1553p, and ITV, off 7.5p to 156.6p.
EUROPE
European stocks lost the most in more than five weeks as better-than-forecast US jobless claims fuelled speculation the Federal Reserve will taper its bond-buying programme this year.

National benchmark indexes declined in all 14 western European markets that opened today. Markets in Italy, Greece, Austria, Cyprus and Luxembourg were closed for the Assumption holiday.

Zurich Insurance declined 3.6 per cent to 243 Swiss francs, its biggest drop since April.

H&M lost 1.6 per cent to 242 kronor after saying same-store sales fell 1 percent in July. Imperial Oriflame Cosmetics slid 6.6 per cent to 202.30 kroner, its lowest price this year.
NEW YORK
US stocks fell in early trading the most since June as forecasts from Cisco Systems and Wal-Mart Stores disappointed, while improving economic data pushed bond yields higher amid concern the Federal Reserve will reduce stimulus.

All 10 major industries in the S&P 500 retreated, with technology and consumer-discretionary shares dropping more than 1.5 per cent.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, fell 2.4 per cent to $74.58.

Cisco sank 6.6 per cent to $24.63 as the world’s biggest maker of networking equipment said revenue for the current quarter through October would be $12.2 billion-$12.5 billion. Analysts on average had projected sales of $12.5 billion.

The company is eliminating 4,000 jobs amid weaker sales in Japan, China and Europe.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals fell 6.2 per cent to $116.49.

Hewlett-Packard lost 3 per cent to $26.37. – (Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters)