A roundup of trading on major world markets:
NEW YORK – US stocks have dropped, following European equity markets lower, after a mixed jobs report and another decline in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 170.50 points (0.95 per cent) to 17,737.37, concluding a volatile week in which the blue-chip index registered triple-digit moves all five days.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 17.33 (0.84 per cent) to 2,044.81, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 32.12 (0.68 per cent) at 4,704.07
The US economy added a solid 252,000 jobs in December, but analysts expressed worries at weak wage growth. Hourly earnings were up only 1.7 percent from a year ago, just keeping up with inflation.
LONDON – Europe’s equities sank on disappointment over the reported size of potential bond purchases from the European Central Bank, while Madrid was rocked by giant bank Santander’s massive capital hike.
Most European markets gave up at least half of the gains from the day before.
London’s FTSE 100 shed 1.05 per cent to close at 6,501.14 points, while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 lost 1.92 per cent to 9,648.50 points and the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 1.90 per cent to 4,178.07.
Madrid’s IBEX 35 felt the heaviest losses, plunging 3.91 per cent to 9,719 points, with shares in Spanish banking titan Santander collapsing on shock news of a 7.5 billion euros ($A11.25 billion) capital raising.
The second heaviest losses were witnessed in Milan, where the FTSE MIB index fell 3.27 per cent to 18,177 points after shares in troubled bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena plunged more than eight per cent after having soared the day before on takeover speculation.
The euro recovered to $US1.1835 in London, after tumbling Thursday to $US1.1754 — last seen in December 2005 — on ECB stimulus speculation.
HONG KONG – Asian shares mostly climbed for a third straight day.
Tokyo gave back most of its early gains but ended marginally higher, adding 0.18 per cent, or 30.63 points, to 17,197.73, while Seoul surged 1.05 per cent, or 20.05 points, to 1,924.70 and Sydney rose 1.56 per cent, or 84.15 points, to close at 5,465.6.
Hong Kong rose 0.35 per cent, or 84.42 points, to 23,919.95 but Shanghai slipped 0.24 per cent, or 8.05 points, to 3,285.41.
The mainland Chinese market swung wildly through the day, at one point adding 3.38 per cent following news that Chinese inflation for December edged up from the previous month but fell well short of the government’s target for the full year.
WELLINGTON – The NZX 50 Index rose 10.789 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5584.841.
