European stocks dropped the most in more than a week as Portugal's coalition government splintered and crude oil surged above $100 a barrel amid rising political unrest in Egypt.
National benchmark indexes retreated in all the 18 western European markets except Iceland. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 1.2 percent. France's CAC 40 fell 1.1 percent and Germany's DAX also retreated 1 percent.
Espirito Santo, Portugal's biggest bank by market capitalization, tumbled 11 percent to 54.5 euro cents. Banco Comercial plunged 13 percent to 8.1 euro cents. The country's bonds slumped, pushing the 10-year yield above 8 percent, as two ministers resigned amid austerity fatigue.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said in a televised speech yesterday he's trying to hold his government together after losing both his finance minister and his foreign minister.
Secretary of State for Treasury Maria Luis Albuquerque replaced Vitor Gaspar at the Ministry of Finance. That prompted Paulo Portas, who leads the smaller CDS party in the coalition government, to quit, saying the new minister would offer "mere continuity" of the country's deficit-cutting plans.
Banks also fell as Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG had their credit ratings lowered by S&P's as new rules and "uncertain market conditions" threaten their business.
Long-term counterparty credit ratings for Barclays and Deutsche Bank were cut to A from A+, while Credit Suisse Group was reduced to A- from A.
Barclays declined 0.8 percent to 280.75 pence, Deutsche Bank dropped 1.4 percent to 31.46 euros and Credit Suisse slid 2.6 percent to 25.04 Swiss francs.
Airlines fell after West Texas Intermediate crude surged to as high as $102.18, its highest price since May 1, 2012, as political uncertainty in Egypt escalated and an industry report showed U.S. stockpiles shrank the most this year.
Air France, Europe's largest airline, dropped 1.6 percent to 6.74 euros. Deutsche Lufthansa AG slid 3.9 percent to 15.27 euros and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, the owner of British Airways, declined 1.3 percent to 263.9 pence.
Chr. Hansen A/S dropped 4.8 percent to 191.1 kroner after the world's biggest maker of dairy enzymes cut its full-year sales forecast on lower prices for the red pigment carmine. Sales will probably rise 6 percent to 7 percent on a like- for-like basis, down from an earlier targeted range of 7 percent to 9 percent, the company said.
U.S. stock futures fell as turmoil in Egypt and political uncertainty in Portugal overshadowed better-than-estimated data on jobs growth and unemployment claims.
Global Stocks:
Nikkei 14,055.56 -43.18 -0.31%
Hang Seng 20,147.31 -511.34 -2.48%
Shanghai Composite 1,994.27 -12.29 -0.61%
FTSE 6,216.13 -87.81 -1.39%
CAC 3,694.92 -47.65 -1.27%
DAX 7,803.13 -107.64 -1.36%
Crude oil $101.41 (+1.82%)
Gold $1250.60 (+0.58%)
Upgrades:
Downgrades:
Alcoa (AA) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan
Other:
European stocks dropped the most in more than a week as Portugal's coalition government splintered and crude oil surged above $100 a barrel amid rising unrest in Egypt. Asian shares and U.S. index futures also declined.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) lost 1.2 percent to 283.8 at 9:57 a.m. in London, extending the retreat from its 2013 high on May 22 to 8.6 percent. Portugal's benchmark PSI-20 Index plunged 7 percent, the most since October 2008. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slumped 1 percent and S&P 500 Index futures slid 0.6 percent, after the benchmark gauge closed lower yesterday.
The Stoxx 600 (SXXP) slid 0.4 percent yesterday after a report showed U.K. construction expanded less than forecast. Asian stocks fell today as China's services-industry growth slowed in June. Data from the ADP Research Institute at 8:15 a.m. New York time may show U.S. companies hired more workers last month.
Espirito Santo, Portugal's biggest bank by market capitalization, tumbled 12 percent to 53.8 euro cents, its biggest drop since April 2012. Comercial Portugues plunged 15 percent to 7.9 euro cents, the most since June 2012. The country's bonds slumped, pushing the 10-year yield above 8 percent, as two ministers resigned amid austerity fatigue.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said in a televised speech yesterday he's trying to hold his government together after losing both his finance minister and his foreign minister.
Secretary of State for Treasury Maria Luis Albuquerque replaced Vitor Gaspar at the Ministry of Finance. That prompted Paulo Portas, who leads the smaller CDS party in the coalition government, to quit, saying the new minister would offer "mere continuity" of the country's deficit-cutting plans.
Banks in Europe fell as Standard & Poor's cut long-term counterparty credit ratings for Barclays and Deutsche Bank to A from A+. Credit Suisse Group was lowered to A- from A.
Barclays declined 3.8 percent to 272.4 pence, Deutsche Bank dropped 3.5 percent to 30.80 euros and Credit Suisse slid 2.9 percent to 24.96 Swiss francs.
FTSE 100 6,206.67 -97.27 -1.54%
CAC 40 3,683.17 -59.40 -1.59%
DAX 7,788.61 -122.16 -1.54%
Asian stocks dropped for the first time in six days as resource companies retreated after metals prices slid overnight and an official report showed China's services industry expanded at a slower pace.
Nikkei 225 14,055.56 -43.18 -0.31%
Hang Seng 20,197.19 -461.46 -2.23%
S&P/ASX 200 4,744.13 -89.88 -1.86%
Shanghai Composite 1,994.27 -12.29 -0.61%
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, sank 3.2 percent.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. led declines on the Asia-Pacific equity benchmark after the Japanese utility soared 19 percent yesterday.
Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. gained 1.5 percent on its debut in Tokyo after raising almost $4 billion in Asia's largest public offering this year.
Nikkei 225 14,098.74 246,24 1,78%
Hang Seng 20,775.35 -27,94 -0,13%
S & P / ASX 200 4834 123,71 2,63%
Shanghai Composite 2,006.24 +11.00 +0.55%
FTSE 100 6,303.94 -3.84 -0.06%
CAC 40 3,742.57 -24.91 -0.66%
DAX 7,910.77 -73.15 -0.92%
Dow -42.78 14,932.18 -0.29%
Nasdaq -1.09 3,433.40 -0.03%
S&P -0.89 1,614.07 -0.06%