Asian markets traded mostly lower, despite Monday’s strong gains on Wall Street. The Nikkei and Kospi both fell .9%, and the ASX 200 slipped .6%. China’s markets continued to climb, as the Hang Seng rose 1.1% and the Shanghai Composite rallied 1.7%.
Concerns regarding Wednesday’s European Summit, sent European markets lower. The CAC40 dropped 1.4%, while the FTSE eased .4% and the DAX edged down .1%. An unexpected cancellation of a meeting of financial ministers helped fuel the uncertainty.
In the US, stocks posted large losses, as disappointing earnings and fear over Europe’s debt troubles weighed on investors. The Dow tumbled 207 points to 11708, the Nasdaq shed 2.3%, and the S&P 500 declined 2%. The VIX jumped more than 10% to 32.22.
3M sank 6.3% after falling short of analyst expectations for profits, and cut its outlook. Netflix shares plunged 35% after revealing that the recent price hikes had caused the company to lose more customers than expected.
Amazon reported weak earnings after the close and lowered its outlook, sending the stock down more than 12% in after hours trading.
Currencies
The Canadian Dollar sank 1.2% to 1.0162 after the Canada’s central bank cut its growth forecast for the upcoming year. The Australian Dollar retreated .5% to 1.0417, while the Euro slipped .2% to 1.3898. The Yen touched another record high of 75.74 before slipping back to 75.97, up .2%.
Economic Outlook
Home prices fell slightly more than expected in August, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price index. Consumer confidence tumbled to 39.8 from 46.4, its lowest level since March 2009.
Wednesday’s focus will be the European Summit, amid hopes for a deal that could increase the European bailout fund. Wednesday’s reports will include durable goods, new home sales, weekly mortgage applications, and weekly oil inventories. Earnings are scheduled for Boeing, Ford, Visa, and Sprint.