IBM Forecast Rallies Asian, European Markets

German, French indexes drop more than 3%; Asian stocks down at close

(NEWSER) - European stock markets opened markedly lower today over continued misgivings about the situation in the US and Europe, the New York Times reports. Germany’s main index fell 3.9% this morning, while France’s fell 3.4%—on the heels of yesterday's 5% drop; Britain’s benchmark index was down 2.8%. Meanwhile, Asian stocks tumbled, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 closing down 2.5%, South Korea’s Kospi falling 6.2%, and Tawain’s Taiex dropping 3.6%. In Australia, the market closed down 3.5%. More»

British MP calls American default 'next big iceberg' for economy

(NEWSER) - With America's $14.3 billion potential default just nine days away, markets are growing increasingly spooked by the rising danger, reports the Telegraph . “We may have a few stressful days coming up—stressful for the markets of the world and the American people,” says White House chief of staff Bill Daley. Analysts blamed those worries for sending Asian markets down today , with the China's Shanghai Composite Index off 2.7%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 down 1.4%, and Japan's Nikkei, Korea's KOSPI, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index all declining 0.8%. More»

Nikkei rises 4.6% to 6-month high

(NEWSER) - The Nikkei stock average soared 4.6% today to close at a 6-month high, leading a rally across Asia. Banking stocks led advances as worries about the US financial system abated, with Mitsubishi UFJ jumping more than 15%. Markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt all opened in positive territory and banks performed well. UBS rose 3.2%, and Barclays jumped nearly 5%. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks turned south this morning, as a series of downgrades and bad news for the Sun/IBM deal spooked investors ahead of earnings season, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow dropped 92, the S&P 12. Financials sank after a veteran analyst downgraded 11 major US banks. The Nasdaq fell 33, after a downgrade from Cisco and a report that the Sun takeover deal was in jeopardy. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks took a turn for the worse at the open today, heading south after yesterday’s rally. The Dow fell 67 points, while the S&P declined 0.8%. The Nasdaq fell 0.5%, but component Sun Microsystems soared 65% on news IBM might acquire it. Investors are anxiously awaiting guidance out of today's Fed meeting, even though the target rate’s unlikely to move. The consumer price index rose 0.4% last month, a bigger-than-expected jump. More»