Stock market fixing:

Nikkei +212.62 +1.70% 12,878.66
Topix +22.83 ,+1.90% 1,239.25
CAC -44.58 -1.01% 4,355.87
DAX -44.27 -0.70% 6,296.95
DOW 241.81 -2.08% 11,386.25
NASDAQ 49.12 -2.03% 2,365.59
S&P 500 25.35 -1.96% 1,266.85
10yr Note -0.7600 -0.198% 3.791%
NYMEX Crude Oil -0.34 -0.28% 115.11
Gold -7.70 -0.92% 825.70

Japanese shares rose for the first time in a week after crude oil dropped, relieving inflationary pressure, and as credit-market concerns eased amid speculation Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. will receive an investment.
Bridgestone Corp., the world's largest tiremaker by sales, surged 4.1% after oil fell more than $6 a barrel and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said inflation should slow. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's largest publicly traded bank, jumped 4.8% after a report Korea Development Bank might invest in Lehman.

European stocks declined, led by banks and builders, as concern grew that credit losses will spread and the economic slowdown will deepen. Natixis SA, the French bank planning a 3.7 billion-euro ($5.5 billion) rights offer to replenish capital, dropped 4.1%, and KBC Group NV, Belgium's second-biggest financial- services firm, lost 3.2%. Vinci SA, the world's largest builder, slipped 1.5% on reports the International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for euro-area economic growth.
The IMF cut the region's growth outlook this year to 1.4% from 1.7%.

U.S. stocks fell for the first time in four days as a Kansas bank's failure and speculation American International Group Inc. will post a loss heightened concern that credit writedowns will keep rattling the financial system.
AIG, the world's largest insurer, tumbled 5% after Credit Suisse Group said the company may lose $2.41 billion this quarter on mortgage-related writedowns. Washington Mutual Inc. and Huntington Bancshares Inc. each dropped more than 4% after Columbian Bank & Trust Co. became the ninth U.S. bank to collapse this year. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. slumped 7% on concern a Korean bank will abandon a potential investment in the fourth-biggest U.S. securities firm.

Stocks fell even after a report showed sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. rose in July from a 10-year low as declining prices helped stabilize demand.
Morgan Stanley cut its year-end forecast for the S&P 500 on concern banks will report more credit-related writedowns and the global economic slowdown will curb profits at technology and industrial companies.
The KBW Bank Index retreated 2.7%. Washington Mutual lost 21 cents to $3.62. Huntington Bancshares retreated 48 cents to $7.03. SunTrust Banks Inc., the largest bank based in Georgia, fell 5.6% to $40.34 after Citigroup Inc. began covering it with a ``sell'' rating.

The yen and Swiss franc rose against most of the other major currencies on bets credit market losses will widen, prompting investors to sell holdings of higher- yielding assets and pay back loans in Japan and Switzerland.
The yen gained the most in more than a week versus the euro on speculation American International Group Inc. will post a quarterly loss and as Columbian Bank & Trust Co. became the ninth U.S. bank to collapse this year. South Korea's won fell to the lowest against the dollar in almost four years as overseas investors stepped up sales of the nation's shares.
The dollar briefly pared its loss against the yen as an industry report showed U.S. home resales rose last month more than economists forecast.
Resales rose to a 5 million annual rate in July, the National Association of Realtors reported. The median forecast of economists was for an increase to 4.91 million.

EUR/USDprintedhighson$1.4795 beforeslidingto$1.4700. Bids managed to support euro and rate rebounded to $1.4741.
GBP/USD fell from $1.8530 to $1.8400 before recovered to $1.8460.
USD/JPY tested Y110.30 before rebounded to Y109.80.

The Ifo institute's business confidence index in Germany will probably show a decline to 97.2 in August, the lowest since September 2005, from 97.5 the previous month, according to the median forecast of economists. The report is due tomorrow.