A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – US stocks halted their downward slide on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovering just above the break-even mark at the close, despite ongoing gloom about the state of the global economy.
The world-wide rout seen on Thursday was arrested in early US trade, with the Dow up 0.33 per cent, 35 points above the previous session’s close.
The blue-chip index stood at 10,769.21 points at the closing bell, a day after $103 billion was wiped off the value of the index.
Consumer-focused stocks led the modest rebound. Nike rose over 5.3 per cent as investors weighted the firm’s latest earnings report.
Shares in Hewlett Packard fell 2.1 per cent after the struggling firm named former eBay chief Meg Whitman its new president and chief executive officer, replacing Leo Apotheker.
The bounceback came despite a tepid view of policymakers’ responses to the rekindled crisis.
A pledge from G20 finance ministers to mount a powerful response to global recovery threats appeared to do little to assuage fears.
The finance chiefs noted “heightened downside risks from sovereign stresses, financial system fragility, market turbulence, weak economic growth and unacceptably high unemployment”.
The broader S&P 500 rose 6.80 points (0.60 per cent) to 1,136.36, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 27.56 points (1.12 per cent) to 2,483.23.
On the bond market, traders continued to respond to the Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to shift $400 billion worth of holdings into longer-term bonds, keeping yields near historic lows.
The 10-year yield hit 1.84 per cent, up from 1.72 per cent on Thursday.
The yield on the 30-year bond was at 2.90 from 2.80 per cent the previous day.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
LONDON – European stocks closed in positive territory after a see-saw session that saw some markets drop over three percent during the session.
After morning gains and steep afternoon losses, London’s FTSE-100 index closed up 0.50 at 5,066.81 points, while in Frankfurt the DAX, which dropped below the key psychological level of 5,000 points during the trading session, posted a gain of 0.63 per cent to 5,196.56 points.
In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 1.02 per cent to 2,8010.11 points with beleaguered banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas up more than seven per cent.
Elsewhere in Europe, Madrid rose by 2.12 per cent, Milan by 1.36 per cent, Lisbon by 0.98 per cent, Zurich by 0.20 per cent, Brussels by 0.93 per cent and Amsterdam rose 0.49 per cent.
The euro rose slightly to $US1.3511 from $US1.3466 on Thursday, when it struck an eight-month low point of $US1.3385.
The euro also nudged up to 103.14 yen from 102.60 on Thursday, when it also hit a 10-year trough of 102.22.
Yields on 10-year German government bonds briefly fell to a new record low of 1.640 per cent on safe-haven sentiment before ending the day at 1.745 per cent. US benchmark bond yields also hit a record low at 1.671 per cent before rising to 1.778 per cent.
HONG KONG – Asian markets fell for a second straight day.
Seoul slumped 5.73 per cent, or 103.11 points, to 1,697.44, while Hong Kong gave up 1.32 per cent, or 236.70 points, to end at 17,675.25.
Sydney closed 1.56 per cent, or 61.7 points, lower at 3,903.2. However, the market was off its earlier lows and at one point even edged into positive territory.
Taiwan fell 3.55 per cent, or 259.28 points, to 7.046.22 while Shanghai lost 0.41 per cent, or 9.90 points, to finish at 2,433.16.
Bangkok, which at one point dived five per cent, was 4.33 per cent lower in the afternoon. Mumbai was almost two per cent lower in morning trade.
However, Jakarta rose 1.70 per cent, or 57.20 points, to 3,426.34, a day after losing almost a tenth of its value because of a huge outflow of foreign cash.
Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.
The Asian sell-off followed heavy losses in the United States and Europe, which were caused by the Federal Reserve’s comments on Wednesday that the US economy faced “significant downside risks”, with the economy struggling with slow growth, high unemployment and a depressed housing market.
Singapore fell 0.80 per cent, or 21.73 points, to 2,698.80.
WELLINGTON – Wellington closed 0.89 per cent, or 25.58 points, lower at 3,282.71.
Fletcher Building fell 2.2 per cent to NZ$7.29 and Port of Tauranga shed 1.3 per cent to end at NZ$9.40.
AAP cd
