Ken, I may just want to disconnect for a while. Looks mean out there today unless you're in bonds:
Wednesday May 27, 6:01 am Eastern Time
FOCUS-Eurobourses fall on Asia fears and Dow drop
By Tim Castle
LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - European stock markets opened sharply down Monday, wiping out much of the week's earlier gains, on renewed fears about the health of Asian economies.
Bourses took their cue from an early morning 5.26 percent fall in Hong Kong's main share index and a near two percent slip in Tokyo.
Downward pressure was reinforced by Wall Street's own overnight 1.65 percent decline in the Industrial Average on worries over the earnings of U.S. multinational companies.
But government bonds firmed in line with US Treasuries, boosted by a strong dollar and expectations of in-flows of money looking for a safe haven.
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MARKET PRICES AT 0943 GMT
Mark 1.7620/25 Yen 137.59/64 Sterling 1.6396/06
Gold $292.35/2.75 -5.4 (pvs PM fix) Brent $14.06 -0.08
FTSE 100 5858.7 -112.0 CAC 3998.21 -117.67 X-DAX 5489.32
-150.57
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In London, shares quickly fell through the psychological 5,900 level at the open, a decline matched across the continent, with Milan, Paris and Frankfurt showing the heaviest losses.
''The alacrity with which we've come down bears out the lack of confidence about the big issues which has dogged the market for weeks,'' said one dealer in London.
The yen remained weak against the dollar in London trading, after hitting its seven-year low of 138.05 overnight, with any recovery undermined by a ratings downgrade of five Japanese banks by Moody's Investors Service.
Asian worries centred on concern that a weaker yen may spark a round of competitive devaluations in other far Eastern countries.
Eastern Europe also added to nervousness, with the Swiss franc rising to a one-month high against the mark on fears that an austerity plan announced by Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Tuesday would fail to protect the rouble.
British government bonds, or gilts, opened higher again, buoyed by a strong showing from the U.S. bond market overnight. Italian government debt and German Bunds were also firmer in early futures trading.
In London merger talk helped Halifax (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: HFX.L) rise over three percent against a falling FTSE 100 list, although shares of its potential target Royal Bank of Scotland (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: RBOS.L) fell slightly.
Early dealing volume was heavy in Paris, with traders taking a philosophical view about the market's fall.
''There are two schools of thought -- those who say U.S. pension funds have still got lots of cash which will be a cushion, and those who say the market's at a high and in these circumstances you might as well take profits,'' said one trader.
Dealers in Frankfurt were equally relaxed, blaming the fall in prices on international pressures.
''The fundamentals in the market remain sound. The fall we are having today is purely due to the losses on Wall Street yesterday,'' said one dealer.
Stocks losing ground in Frankfurt included Bayerische Vereinsbank (BVMG.DE), down over five percent a day after shareholders approved a planned merger with sister Bavarian bank Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank (BHWG.DE). |
