Nikkei, Topix down ahead of election

Asia-Pacific equities markets were lower on Friday, extending Thursday’s declines and in some cases exceeding them. The biggest loser on the session was Taiwan’s Taiex index, which dropped 4.22 percent to 9,162.28, its steepest decline in over a year. South Korea’s Kospi index also lost more than 4 percent, dropping 4.09 percent to 1,883.22, taking its gains so far this year down to 31 percent. The Sensex, which was one of the few markets that saw gains on Thursday, declined 3.43 percent to 15,234.57. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 fell 2.81 percent to 6,082.9, while the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 2.76 percent to 6,127.3. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index also fell 2.76 percent to close at 22,570.41, while the Straits Times index was 2.42 percent lower to 3,592.68 in Singapore. Thursday’s other gainer, the Shanghai Composite, fell 0.03 percent to 4,345.36.

In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 closed 2.4 percent lower to 17,283.81, while the Topix index ended the session at 1,699.71, a drop of 2.2 percent. The Mother’s market of small and mid-caps was down 1.51 percent to 839.27. Export sectors were hit hard by worries that the global economy could slow. Among carmakers, Toyota (TYO: 7203.T; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) fell 1.6 percent to ¥7,260, it lowest share price in six weeks, while Honda (TYO: 7267; NYSE: HMC) dropped 2.5 percent to ¥4,310. Camera manufacturer Canon (TYO: 7751; NYSE: CAJ) was 5.5 percent lower to ¥6,510 even though it reported that its net profits were up 19 percent in the first half of 2007. Games maker Nintendo (TYO:7974; NAS: NTODY; FWB: NTO) was down 6.2 percent to ¥58,000. Shipper Mitsui OSK Lines (TYO: 9104) dropped 2.7 percent to ¥1,782. Domestic sectors were also lower, still worried about Sunday’s elections as polls continue to say that the ruling Liberal Democrats could lose control of the Upper House of parliament. In the retail sector, Seven & I (TYO: 3382) fell 1.2 percent to ¥3,390, while supermarket chain Aeon (TYO: 8267) was 4.6 percent lower to ¥1,917. Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306; NYSE: MTU) was down 3 percent to ¥1,290,000.

Most European markets were also lower again on Friday. The main exception was the IBEX, which was 0.23 percent higher to 14,574 in Madrid. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.54 percent to 1,519.59. In Paris the CAC-40 was 0.55 percent lower to 5,643.96, while the Dax fell 0.76 percent to 7,451.68 in Frankfurt. The best performance on the session on the CAC-40 came from chipmaker STMicroelectronics (Euronext: STM; NYSE: STM), which added 1.44 percent to €12.66. Elsewhere in the semiconductors sector, Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX) was also higher, gaining 0.41 percent to €12.26. The Dax saw Volkswagen (FWB: VOW; OTC: VLKAY) rise to the top with a gain of 4.91 percent to €125.40. There were other gains in the automobile manufacturing sector as Renault (Eurnoext: RNO) was up 0.37 percent to €103.26 and Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) added 1.17 percent to €59.75. Not all carmakers were higher however, as BMW (FWB: BMW) dropped 2.71 percent to €35.77. In a related sector, tire maker Michelin (Euronext: ML) had the worst day on the CAC-40 as it fell 3.72 percent to €90.08. The worst performance on the Dax came from retailer Metro, which dropped 2.99 percent to €56.39. Not all retailers saw declines, however. Carrefour (Euronext: CA) added 0.62 percent to €51.64. The media sector was mixed. Vivendi (Euronext: VIV) added 0.29 percent to €31.53, while Lagardere (Euronext: MMB) was down 1.92 percent to €59.34 and Bouygues (Euronext: EN), which has interests in both media and construction, fell 2.09 percent to €57.61. Another construction group, Vinci (Euronext: DG), was 0.49 percent higher to €52.86.

London’s markets were lower on the day, but nearly as steeply as they were on Thursday. The FTSE 100 fell 0.58 percent to 6,215.2, while the FTSE 250 was down 0.44 percent to 10.984.5. Miners posted the worst performances on both the 100 and the 250 as Anglo American (LSE: AAL) dropped 3.86 percent to £27.43 on the 100 and Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP; ASX: AQP) fell 7.37 percent to £13.58. Also in the sector, Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) was down 3.43 percent to 675p, while Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) was 3.68 percent lower to £16.22. Online property search group Rightmove (LSE: RMV) also saw declines, dropping 6.09 percent to 547.5p, while human resources group STHREE (LSE: STHR) was 5.75 percent lower to 410.5p. Caterer Compass Group (LSE: CPG) fell 2.81 percent to 311p. Chemicals group Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RB) had the best day on the 100 as it gained 3.19 percent to £26.84. Publisher Emap (LSE: EMA) was the best performer on the 250, where it added 12.7 percent to 860.5p. Another publishers, Johnston Press (LSE: JPR) was 4.69 percent higher to 385p. Retailers also had gains on the 250. GAME Group (LSE: EBQ) added 4.77 percent to 186.75p, while home shopping retailer Findel (LSE: FADV) gained 4.83 percent to 683.5p. In the banking sector, Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) was up 3.12 percent to 793.5p. Electric power transmitter National Grid (LSE: NG) and airplane engine maker Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR) each added 2.47 percent, to 704p and 508.5p respectively.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down again, by more than 100 points in midday trade, falling 0.96 percent to 13,344.56, while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.89 percent to 2,576.32 and the S&P 500 was 1.12 percent lower to 1,466.1. The declines came even though the Commerce Department had released a report calling the US economy strong in the second quarter, with the GDP up at an annual rate of 3.4 percent, better than the 3.3 percent growth that had been expected. A gain to 90.4 by the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index in July didn’t seem to impress investors, either. The oil sector was lower after Thursday’s quarterly report from ExxonMobil (NSYE: XOM), which showed profits off from predictions. ExxonMobil dropped 2.2 percent to $86.24. Chevron, which reported profits up in the most recent quarter, was also lower, falling 2.5 percent to $85.31. In the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK; LSE: GSK) was down 2.79 percent to $49.80 ahead of a Monday meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration to look at the safety of its Avandia diabetes drug, which ahs been implicated in increased risks of heart problems to patients. GlaxoSmithKline claims that Avandia is as safe as other diabetes drugs and that the study that found the risks was flawed. Elsewhere in the sector, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) had dropped 0.41 percent to $24.05 while Merck (NYSE: MRK) was 2.69 percent lower to $50.57. On the other hand, shoe manufacturer Crocs Inc (NAS: CROX) hit a new record high share prices when it went as high as $59.71 before falling back to $55.25 in midday trade, a gain of 9.2 percent on its report that earnings tripled in the second quarter and on an increased full-year forecast.