Mar 11
15
In Asia, crude oil for April delivery is trading $1.86 lower at $99.33 per barrel.
Australian and Asian Report 15th March 2011
Asian markets are trading lower this morning, amid concerns, after Japan’s Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, warned that radiation leaks had increased after a third explosion at the nuclear power plant at Fukushima. In Japan, Banks, Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mitsui Financial Group, paced declines, as risk aversion increased among investors. Tokyo Electric Power traded lower, leading utility stocks lower, after the company confirmed a third explosion at its Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. In Hong Kong, Ping An Insurance lost values, after the company sold shares to Cheng Yu-tung, while Swire Pacific and Tencent Holdings also paced declines. In South Korea, plant designers, KEPCO Engineering & Construction and KR Plant Service & Engineering traded lower, following Japan’s nuclear crisis. Nikkei 225 index is trading 11.9% lower, at 8,473.5. Hang Seng index is down 3.8% at 22,449.6, while the Kospi index is trading 2.5% lower at 1,922.0.
International Report 15th March 2011
US markets closed lower yesterday, as the after- effects of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami sparked caution on Wall Street. General Electric dropped 2.1%, following news that the company had designed one or more nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex which failed. Walt Disney declined 1.6% after the company temporarily closed its Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea theme parks on the outskirts of Tokyo following the earthquake. Insurers, Hartford Financial Services Group and Manulife Financial, shed 2.8% and 3.5%, respectively, as Moody’s Investors Service warned that insurance and reinsurance companies around the world are expected to face heavy losses following the earthquake in Japan. DJIA closed 0.4% lower, at 11,993.2, while NASDAQ closed 0.5% down, at 2,701.0. S&P 500 Index fell 0.6% to 1,296.4.
