A/O 05:30 CDT, US screen trade plus 37 Dow points....
Nikkei225 slides below 10,000 to a three-week closing low Thursday as strong yen exports and weak U.S. data renewed Wall Street angst. JAL rose nearly 3% on news about revival plans for the airline after the close. The benchmark N225 lost 1.8 % or 183.95 points to 9,891.10, its lowest close since Oct. 8. Earlier on, it had fallen as much as 2.2 percent. The broader Topix lost 0.7 percent to 882.26.
Shares in Hong Kong and China finished at multi-week lows on Thursday, with Chinese banks hit by worries about a possible interest rate rise in the mainland, while Nine Dragons Paper (2689.HK) slumped on its plan to issue new shares. China's key stock index dropped 2.34 percent, weighed down by banking stocks amid worries over a possible exit from the government's loose monetary policy after Norway's interest rate increase. The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI slid 2.28 percent or 496.59 points to 21,264.99, its lowest in more than three weeks. Volume was the highest since Sept. 17 and up from yesterday smartly.
Euro-trade edged higher Thursday with a recovery from banks outweighing weak energies after results from Shell clouded the outlook for the sector. FTSEurofirst300 up 0.1 percent at 981.48 points after falling to a low of 974.50, its lowest level in three weeks. "European markets have been hovering either side of the starting point. Everything is pretty much on hold in front of the U.S. 3Q GDP" said one commendatore. Numbers due out at 12:30 pm London time and will be closely watched by investors for insight into the state of the world's biggest economy.
ACORNS OF ANGST:
"It is not healthy that all global asset classes appear to be hanging on for one apparently key data item from the U.S. It is indicative of a market that is beginning to run out of ideas," analysts opined.
Sad but true.
T. W. Merryman
Managing Director
Interconti, Limited
(Market Research Analysts)
Chicago, IL 60604
e: intercon@intercontilimited.com
w: www.intercontilimited.com
