The Nikkei remained down again today losing 1.6% due to pressures from a slowing Chinese economy and doubt on US stimulus, a very similar day to yesterday. Sharp Corp sank 12.8%, they seem to have very few small days as of late, due to uncertainty over their deal with Hon Hai. Komatsu Construction and Hitachi Construction both shed again today 2.2 and 2.6% respectively. The two have fallen in 9 of the last 10 sessions. Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metals fell 5.6 and 5.1% respectively. The Iron and Steel and mining sector were not surprisingly the biggest losers today down 4.1 and 2.3%.
Hong Kong slipped 0.4% today, 1.6% this month, its first monthly loss of three, as China closed today at level not seen since early 2009. Citic Pacific lost 7.1% with Iron hitting its lowest level in 3 years. Sany Heavy Industries lost 4% due to missed forecasts. The top performing stock this month was Esprit rising 30% during August as it rebounded from a year low on July 25. Sands China took second adding 20% for the month. The slacker of the month, of many, was Li & Fung, losing 18%, its worst monthly performance since October 2008.
Europe snapped 3 days of losses with the FTSE currently up 0.3% due to Spanish and Italian Rallies. The Spanish IBEX is up 0.8% and the Italian MIB is up 0.9% as the ECB signals it plans to buy bonds from the troubled countries to help lower borrowing costs. Spanish lender BBVA is up 1% so far and their peer BancoPopolare is at a gain of 0.9%. Around Europe the French CAC is up 0.6% and the DAX is up 0.4%
European unemployment remained at a record high of 11.3% for July rising by 88,000.
Time Warner’s HBO and Netflix are set to battle it out in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland as they both are set to release their streaming services in the countries, as of now HBO plans on its release in October, while Netflix is uncertain however before 2012 close.
Contributer Chris Rygh is currently pursuing his MBA in Wisconsin and has a passion for the Market. Comments can be directed to ryghcw19@uww.edu