Feb 11
23
WalMart fell 3.1%, as it posted its seventh straight quarterly drop in US sales, trailing its own estimates
International Market Report 23rd February 2011
US markets declined yesterday, as concerns over continued unrest in the Middle East and dismal results from Wal-Mart overshadowed better-thanexpected rise in consumer confidence for February. Among retailers, WalMart fell 3.1%, as it posted its seventh straight quarterly drop in US sales, trailing its own estimates. Among financials, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and American Express fell between 4.2% and 2.9%, amid a fall in risk appetite. Bank of America was also weighed down after it stated that write-down for its credit-card unit had doubled to about $20.3 billion. Freeport- McMoRan and Alcoa fell 4.9% and 4.3% respectively, in line with the fall in base metal prices. DJIA ended 1.4% or 178.5 points lower to close
at 12,219.8.NASDAQ was down 2.7% or 77.5 points, at 2,756.4. S&P 500 index closed 2.1% lower, at 1,315.
Australian and Asian Market Report 23rd February 2011
Asian markets are trading lower this morning, taking cues from sharp overnight losses on the Wall Street, and amid no signs of an end to the Libyan political crisis, after Moammar Gadhafi made clear that he had no
intention of stepping down or leaving the nation. In Japan, shipping stocks, Nippon Yusen and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, traded lower, after an index of cargo rates dropped for the second consecutive day. In Hong Kong, shares of Qantas Airways lost values, as soaring crude oil futures stoked concerns that higher fuel prices would curb the earnings outlook for the region’s carriers. In South Korea, the Kospi index was supported by bargain hunting in construction firms, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Daewoo
Engineering & Construction. Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.8% lower, at 10,576.0. Hang Seng index is down 0.4%, at 22,891.3, while the Kospi index is trading 0.4% lower, at 1,961.5.
