Stock market trading around the world Tuesday was uneven as
investors appeared uncertain where to turn next in the ongoing
international financial turmoil and new trouble spots emerging.
While investors continued to look for signs about whether the US
finance sector 700-billion-dollar bail-out plan would start to show
results, the focus of international concern was suddenly turned on
tiny Iceland, where the government passed emergency laws to prevent
the country's overstretched banking system from going under.
At the same time, in data underlining the extent of the crisis,
the International Monetary Fund warned that US financial sector
losses could total 1.4 trillion dollars as a housing crisis at the
centre of the global turmoil has yet to reach its peak.
In a bid to try to stabilize conditions, the European Central Bank
in Frankfurt provided a further infusion of 250 billion euros (338
billion dollars) to commercial banks in a regular one-week loan at an
interest rate of 4.99 per cent. The volume was 60 billion euros
higher than last week's loan.
In addition to the weekly loan, the ECB also pumped 50 billion
dollars into interbank money markets, the same amount as Monday.
In London, the FTSE-100 in the midst of a roller-coaster ride was
up by by 1.7 per cent, or 76 points, to 4,665.2 points at lunchtime,
after surging ahead by almost 3 per cent in early morning trading.
On Monday, the FTSE plunged by almost 8 per cent in the largest
one-day percentage decline since 1987.
In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 during a day of volatile trading was down
a slight 0.25 per cent to 5,373 points at mid-afternoon. Financial
institutes were among the losers, led by Deutsche Bank, Germany's
biggest, which was off 7.4 per cent at 44.30 euros.
Troubled property lender Hypo Real Estate, which is subject of a
50-billion-euro (68-billion-dollar) bail-out after running into
liquidity problems, saw its shares climb 4 per cent to 4.89 euros,
following news that its chief executive had stepped down.
Carmaker Volkswagen posted gains of 19.2 per cent to stand at
348.66 euros, while Daimler AG was up 5.29 per cent at 28.64.
In Paris, the CAC-40 was up almost 2.6 per cent at mid-afternoon
to 3,807.74 points, in trading a day after the bourse had suffered
its largest single-day loss in its 21-year history. Advancing issues
outpaced losers by 3 to 1.
In Milan, the bourse rebounded Tuesday from the previous day's
heavy losses with the S&P/Mib benchmark index up by 2.38 per cent to
24,342 points in afternoon trading. Leading the charge were bank
Intesa Sanpaolo up by 7.59 per cent and energy group Eni whose value
rose 3.85 per cent.
The surge followed some jittery morning trading when
telecommunications group Telecom, industrial giant Fiat and bank
Banco Popolare were all suspended from trading due to losses.
Elsewhere in Europe, in Madrid the Ibex-35 index had gained 3.33
per cent to 11,083 points by mid-afternoon. The Santander, Banco
Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and Banesto banks gained more than 4
per cent. The energy company Gas Natural soared by 8.37 per cent.
In Poland, Warsaw's main WIG20 index was up 19 per cent at 3:30 pm
(1330 GMT), at a value of 2,222.57 as the market rebounded after the
second-worst day in the exchange's history on Monday.
In Amsterdam, the main AEX index remained volatile, first rising,
then falling, before then gaining again, with a 1330 GMT reading of
316.50 points, up 1.26 per cent. Insurer Aegon and bank and insurance
company ING Group were among the losing shares.
In the Baltic region, the guideline Baltic Benchmark Index (BBI),
which includes data from the Tallin, Riga and Vilnius exchanges,
closed 6.08 per cent lower at 339.88.
In the Nordics region, the OMX Stockholm 30 benchmark index was
flat mid-afternoon Tuesday after closing down 7.1 per cent on Monday,
the biggest drop since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in
New York. In Copenhagen, the OMX Copenhagen 20 Index was down 0.3 per
cent while in Helsinki the decline was just over 1 per cent.
In Oslo, the bourse was also hovering in positive territory after
closing dropping nearly 10 per cent on Monday.
In Vienna, the leading ATX index was down by 4.54 per cent by mid-
afternoon. Companies exposed to business in Central and Eastern
Europe suffered the biggest losses, such as Raiffeisen International
Bank-Holding AG, which was down 8.51 per cent.
Earlier in Asia, the Tokyo, stocks continued their downward
course, as the Nikkei plunged below 10,000 for the first time in
nearly five years before recovering slightly at Tuesday's closing.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 317.19 points, or 3.03
per cent, to close at 10,155.9. It had dipped below 10,000 in morning
trading for the first time since December 10, 2003. The broader Topix
index of all first-section issues dropped 21.44 points, or 2.15 per
cent, to 977.61.
But Australia's stocks managed a modest gain after the Reserve
Bank of Australia (RBA) delivered a bigger-than-expected cut of one
per cent in its key rate. The mid-morning announcement triggered a
rise on the market, with the AXS 200 finishing 78 points, or 1.7 per
cent, higher at 4,618 points.
In Seoul, the benchmark Kospi index rose 7.35 points, or 0.5 per
cent, to close at 1,366.10. But the main index of the technology-
heavy Kosdaq market slipped 4.44 points to 401.95.
In Manila, the Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite
index shed 75.34 points or some 3 per cent to close at 2,424.19 from
Monday's finish of 2,499.53 points.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand index ended at 528.71, down 23.09
points or 4.18 per cent.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story