Cyber Monday Deal: Up to 60% off InvestingProCLAIM SALE

GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks slip; earnings jitters dominate

Published 04/20/2009, 08:17 AM
C
-
BAC
-
BARC
-
IBM
-

* MSCI world equity index down 0.8 percent at 220.04

* Bank of America falls after results; other earnings eyed

* Government bonds and dollar firmer; oil tumbles

By Natsuko Waki

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - World stocks slipped from last week's three-month highs on Monday while government bonds rose as a big increase in troubled loans at Bank of America and this week's key corporate results made investors nervous.

Bank of America's first-quarter results topped analysts' forecast but non-performing assets more than tripled to $25.74 billion from a year earlier. Its shares fell more than 7 percent in pre-market trade.

So far, Q1 corporate results have been better than estimates on both sides of the Atlantic, although a few negative numbers can quickly wipe out optimism in a fickle market.

"While the reporting season has been better than expected, the results are still very poor indeed, " said Henk Potts, strategist at Barclays Wealth.

"There are still a lot of hurdles to overcome and volatility is still going to be a significant aspect." MSCI world equity index lost 0.8 percent on the day, having hit its highest level in three months on Friday.

U.S. stock futures were down 1.6 percent ahead of results from key companies including IBM.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 2.2 percent.

According to Thomson Reuters data, S&P 500 companies are so far reporting earnings that are 20.6 percent above the estimates in the aggregate. This compares with the long-term average of 1.6 percent.

The improvement in the Q1 data stems from higher-than-expected numbers from financial sector firms such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

"The markets appear to be in limbo. The question we need to ask ourselves is does being 'less bad' actually equate to being 'good'," said Chris Hossain, senior sales manager at ODL Securities.

"If we are to see a sustained bout of buying, we need to see consistent positive economic newsflow, which simply can't be guaranteed. Having endured 18 months of pain, it will take more than some okay banking numbers to get the masses to return to the markets."

Emerging stocks dropped 0.14 percent.

The dollar rose 0.6 percent against a basket of major currencies, while the low-yielding yen rose 0.5 percent to 98.72 per dollar. The euro hit a one-month low of $1.2945.

U.S. crude oil fell more than 5 percent to $47.70 a barrel, pressured by a firmer dollar.

The June bund future rose 43 ticks. (Additional reporting by Simon Falush and Atul Prakash, Editing by Ron Askew)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.