Consumer confidence in the UK was steady but remained close to two-year lows in new data on Thursday, while the retail sector was mostly lower in London after Dixons Retail (LSE: DXNS) saw its outlook assessed as negative by Fitch Ratings and Macquarie Research cuts its recommendation on the consumer electronics retailer to “neutral”.
Four of the top five decliners on the FTSE 250 were from the retail sector, and only four retailers saw gains on the session, which saw the FTSE 100 drop 0.66 percent to 5,908.76 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.72 percent to 11,592, with most of the media and energy sectors joining retailers in declines, while miners were mixed and the banking sector was down after regulators in Ireland said that four banks will need to raise €24 billion in extra capital.
Markets in the rest of Europe were also lower after the European Union’s statistics office said that inflation in the Eurozone was up 2.6 percent in March from 2.4 percent in February, new data showed that Portugal’s budget deficit is at 8.6 percent of its gross dometstic product for last year, and Moody’s Investors Service said it could issue more credit rating cuts in the region.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.51 percent to 1,128.89 while the Dax fell 0.22 percent to 7,041.31, the CAC-40 was 0.88 percent lower to 3,989.18 and the IBEX dropped 1.45 percent to 10,576.5.
In contrast, most markets in Asia and the Pacific were higher as Japan ended its fiscal year and a report on private sector jobs in the US showed 201,000 more jobs this month, helping exporters in Asia to gains.
The Nikkei 225 was up 0.48 percent to 9,755.1 in Tokyo, while the Topix index added 0.38 percent to 869.38 and the Mothers market gained 2.43 percent to 460.23, with gains for robot makers, banks, shares related to the semiconductors sector and in the pharmaceuticals sector, but Tokyo Electric Power (TYO: 9501) saw more declines, although the day’s drop for the utility was much less than recent retreats.
The Hang Seng was up 0.32 percent to 23,527.5 in Hong Kong as some Chinese banks listed there reported positive results regarding full-year net incomes.
Australia’s markets were up as the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.32 percent to 4,928.6 and the SP/ASX200 was up 0.33 percent to 4,837.9, while the Straits Times Index added 0.34 percent in Singapore, Taiwan’s Taiex was 0.43 percent higher to 8,683.3, the Kospi gained 0.73 percent to 2,106.7 in South Korea and India’s Sensex added 0.8 percent to 19,445.2.
The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.94 percent to 2,928.11.
New York markets were up only slightly in early afternoon trade on new data from the Labor Department showed that first-time unemployment claims in the US were down last week, but not by as much as analysts had expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.09 percent to 12,362.3, while the SP 500 had added 0.08 percent to 1,329.36 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.06 percent higher to 2,778.4.
Crude oil prices were up by about $2 per barrel for both West Texas Intermediate crude and for Brent crude as fighting continued in Libya, while metals prices also saw gains, with gold adding $13.50 per troy ounce at just before 1 p.m. in New York.
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