European stocks are seen opening slightly lower on Tuesday, as surging Spanish bond yields gave way to cynicism that the nation will at some point require a full bailout. Focus is also turning from Spain to Greece, as the beleaguered nation heads to the polls for a vote that will determine whether the country
will remain within the common currency bloc.
Asian markets are trading mostly lower on increasing concerns whether Spain's 100 billion euros bank bailout will be enough to stop Europe's debt contagion from spreading. The Australian market is up 0.15 percent, as stocks played catch up with gains across Asia yesterday, when the local market was closed for the Queen's Birthday public holiday.
Likewise, India's benchmark Sensex is rising 0.2 percent, as a worse-than-expected reading on industrial output increased the chances of RBI cutting interest rates at its upcoming monetary policy meeting next Monday.
Closer home, house prices in the United Kingdom fell again in May, as deepening eurozone crisis and the end of a tax holiday for first-time home buyers curbed demand, a survey by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealed. The house price balance stood at -16 in May, slightly up from -19 in April. This compares to a score of -17 expected by economists. London was the only region to record an increase in house prices during the month.
Separately, permanent jobs in the U.K. grew only modestly in May, while temporary or contract staff billings decreased for the sixth month running, the latest KPMG/Recruitment & Employment Confederation report on jobs revealed.
In corporate news, healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has won U.S. antitrust approval to acquire Swiss medical devices company Synthes, Inc., agreed upon in April 2011.
Swiss biotechnology firm Basilea Pharmaceutica entered into an exclusive worldwide agreement with Stiefel, a GlaxoSmithKline company, for Toctino, a treatment of adults with severe chronic hand eczema that is refractory to treatment with potent topical corticosteroids.
Cement giant Holcim said it is on track to achieve its self-imposed targets to reduce specific net CO2 emissions by 25 percent below the 1990 benchmark by 2015.
Valartis Group announced that its board of directors appointed Vincenzo Di Pierri to be the new CEO of Valartis Bank AG, Switzerland.
France-based cement giant Lafarge SA announced its 2012 to 2015 plan to drive growth in sales, cash generation, and return on capital employed via. innovation, performance actions, and dynamic portfolio management.
Shinsei Bank will purchase U.K.-based Lloyds TSB Bank Plc's overseas remittance operations for individual customers in Japan for less than 1 billion yen , the Nikkei reported.
European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday, as news of a bailout for Spanish banks did little to alleviate persisting concerns about the euro region's peripheral economies.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks fell 0.3 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, rose 0.1 percent. Around Europe, the German DAX rose 0.2 percent and Switzerland's SMI ended little changed with a positive bias, but France's CAC 40 slipped 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down marginally.
U.S. stocks finished sharply lower overnight, erasing gains at the outset of trading in response to the initial euphoria over Spain's 100 billion euros bailout to recapitalize its beleaguered banks. The upward momentum quickly faded as investors expressed doubts as to whether the deal represents a long-term fix to the euro-zone debt crisis. The Dow edged down 1.1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 1.7 percent and the S&P 500 shed 1.3 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis