Stock market fixing:
Nikkei0.000.00%14,049.26
FTSE
100-0.300.00%6,215.20
CAC
40-22.44-0.44%5,040.92
Xetra
Dax-34.98-0.50%7,017.10
DOW+51.29+0.40%13,020.83
NASDAQ+19.19+0.78%2,483.31
S&P
500+10.76+0.76%1,418.25
10yr
Note+0.4800+0.125%3.893%
NYMEX
Crude Oil+1.87+1.56%121.84
Gold+3.60+0.41%877.70
Japan financial markets were closed Tuesday in observance of national
holiday.
European stocks fell for a second day after UBS AG lost
$17.3 billion in its investment banking unit and Swiss Reinsurance Co.'s profit
missed analysts' estimates, renewing concern that the crisis in credit markets
will deepen.
Stocks extended declines after Fannie Mae, the largest U.S.
mortgage-finance company, reported a wider loss than analysts predicted as the
worst housing slump since the Great Depression deepens.
Zurich-based UBS sank 4.5%, the most since April 3. The world's biggest
wealth manager saw clients pulling out 12.8 billion francs ($12.2 billion) in
the first quarter, the first reduction since the second quarter of 2000, and
said it expects ``tough business conditions'' to continue.
Swiss Re tumbled 4.8% after the company said profit fell to 624 million
francs in the first quarter as premium income declined on falling rates and a
further writedown. Aegon, the Dutch owner of U.S. insurer Transamerica Corp.,
sank 2.5%. Axa slipped 1.9%.
Rio Tinto rose 4.1% after copper reached a record. Kazakhmys Plc gained 4%.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, advanced 3.8%. Adidas
AG rose 5.7%. The world's second-largest sporting-goods maker reported a 32%
gain in first-quarter profit to 169 million euros, after squeezing suppliers
for cost reductions and opening stores under its own brand. Earnings beat the
158.9 million-euro average estimate of four analysts. Stocks on Wall Street rose
slightly after initially decline amid Fannie Mae posted a wider-than-estimated
loss and UBS AG, Europe's largest bank,
predicted ``tough business conditions'' because of the collapse of the subprime
mortgage market.
Fannie Mae slumped after the largest U.S. home-loan financer reported a
$2.19 billion loss, cut its dividend and said it will raise $6 billion in
capital. Merrill Lynch & Co. dropped the most in five weeks after the
largest U.S.
brokerage reported a 70% increase in so-called Level 3 assets, the holdings
most vulnerable to writedowns. Stocks fell in Europe and Asia
as UBS lost $17.3 billion in its investment banking unit and Swiss Reinsurance
Co.'s profit trailed estimates.
Stocks also were under pressure after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
said accelerating home foreclosures may hurt the U.S. economy. Profits have slumped
13% on average for the 373 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported
results so far.
D.R. Horton declined. The homebuilder reported a fiscal second-quarter
net loss of $1.31 billion, or $4.14 a share, its biggest ever and almost seven
times higher than analysts' estimates.
Wachovia Corp. retreated. The fourth- largest U.S. bank by assets said
its net loss for the first quarter was $708 million more than previously
disclosed because of valuation losses on bank-owned life insurance.
Legg Mason Inc. retreated too. The asset- management company posted a
bigger-than-expected loss, its first as a public company, after bailing out
money-market funds hurt by investments in debt backed by subprime mortgages.
Cisco Systems Inc. fell. The largest maker of networking devices will
announce its earnings and outlook today after financial markets close. Cisco
may predict a 9.1% jump in fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to $10.3 billion,
according to the average of estimates in a survey of analysts.
