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US shares fall on weak sales data, Europe climbs despite recession
AFP - Saturday, November 15
LONDON (AFP) - - US and European share prices moved in opposite directions Friday, as Wall Street was hammered by weak sales data while markets firmed in Europe despite confirmation the eurozone had fallen into recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had slid 2.97 percent to 8,572.57 by mid-day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 3.75 percent to 1,536.77 after a big rally on Thursday.
In Europe, by contrast, the London FTSE 100 index of leading shares gained 1.53 percent to close at 4,232.97.
In Paris the CAC 40 added 0.67 percent to finish at 3,291.47, with the French economy reported to have escaped recession in the third quarter, while in Frankfurt the DAX rose 1.31 percent to 4,710.24.
Asian markets earlier in the day closed well into positive territory as bargain hunters took advantage of recent declines.
Traders and investors around the world braced for an emergency summit of the world's principal developed and developing nations in Washington Saturday aimed at crafting a global response to financial market turmoil and a looming global recession.
"We do not expect any radical overhaul of the financial markets and it is unlikely that anything said could have a major effect on the markets," said analyst Joshua Raymond at City Index.
"However, with the markets to remain overly sensitive for some time to come, it may only take one sentence from a world leader for the market to react."
In Washington the Commerce Department reported that US retail sales tumbled a record 2.8 percent in October as consumers hunkered down in the face of a sharply slowing economy.
Aaron Smith at Economy.com said the steep fall was a bad omen for the economic outlook, since consumer spending makes up the lion's share of the economy.
"The recent weak performance of retail sales makes it increasingly likely that the decline in real consumption this quarter will be even larger than the third-quarter drop, which was the largest since the second quarter of 1980," he said.
Brian Bethune at IHS Global Insight added that consumers "were already fighting to keep their heads above water in the third quarter, and in October they were thrown several heavy cement blocks in the form of steep declines in employment and hours worked, further declines in house prices, and a massive negative shock to household net financial assets."
In Europe, markets displayed surprising resistance to news that the 15-nation eurozone had slumped into recession for the first time, as gross domestic product shrank by 0.2 percent in the second and third quarters.
Italy too was in recession in the third quarter, with the economy contracting 0.5 percent from the second quarter when it shrank 0.3 percent.
The Spanish economy posted negative growth of 0.2 percent in the third quarter, signalling a definitive end to a 15-year boom fueled by the housing market and a likely slide into recession by the end of the year.
Dealers said a eurozone downturn increased the chances of more interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank (ECB).
"The latest eurozone GDP data confirm that the economy ... entered its first technical recession since the formation of the euro," said Ben May, European economist at the Capital Economics consultancy in London.
"Coupled with the prospect of further sharp falls in inflation, this will prompt the ECB to cut interest rates aggressively over the coming months."
European stocks nonetheless rose strongly during much of the day -- as news of recession in the eurozone came as no surprise -- before losing some steam in the wake of the weak Wall Street opening.
In addition to positive finishes in London, Paris and Frankfurt, there were gains of 1.65 percent on the Swiss Market Index, 2.04 percent in Milan, 1.0 percent in Amsterdam and 1.05 percent in Madrid. In Brussels the Bel-20 index slipped 0.08 percent.
In Asia, Hong Kong closed 2.43 percent higher and Tokyo rallied 2.72 percent.
"The rally is just driven by bargain hunting after the sharp dips," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC in Tokyo.
Dealers took their cue Friday from a powerful rally overnight on Wall Street where the Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt 6.67 percent as investors also scooped up beaten-down stocks after a punishing three-day market selloff.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore stocks closed flat and Sydney rose 1.4 percent.
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