World stock markets slide amid valuation concerns after mixed economic, corporate news

World stocks slide amid valuation concerns

LONDON — World stocks slid Thursday amid mounting concerns that current valuations are not merited by the pace of the global economic recovery.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 60.09 points, or 1.1 percent, to 5,282.04 while Germany’s DAX fell 65.34 points, or 1.1 percent, to 5,722.27. The CAC-40 in France was 34.10 points, or 0.9 percent, lower at 3,794.08.

Losses in Europe more than doubled after Wall Street opened sharply lower. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 121.15 points, or 1.2 percent, at 10,305.16 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 16.03 points, or 1.4 percent, at 1,093.77.

Stock markets have rallied strongly since March’s lows as investors reined in their economic doomsday expectations to factor in a swifter than anticipated global economic rebound, but recent disappointing U.S. housing figures and mixed earnings from some of the country’s leading retailers have dented the optimism. Many investors think stock valuations are now pricing in too rapid an economic recovery.

“Negative outlooks from the U.S. software sector and unexpectedly disappointing home stats brought worries about the pace of recovery back to the table,” said Richard Griffiths, senior equity trader at Spreadex.

The state of household spending in the U.S. is key for recovery — it accounts for around 70 percent of the nation’s economy. A second consecutive quarterly loss from Sears Holdings Inc. did little to ease concerns that the upcoming Christmas trading period may not be as strong as many in the markets have been predicting.

Further insights will be looked for in results later from Gap Inc.

The markets brushed aside the latest more rosy economic forecasts from the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, even though it more than doubled its estimate for 2010 growth in its 30 member countries — which include the U.S., Japan and Germany — to 1.9 percent and raised its 2011 forecast to 2.5 percent.

“Neither of these figures is exceptional which underpins the delicate nature of the present economic recovery,” said Jane Foley, research director at Forex.com.

Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average lost 127.33 points, or 1.3 percent, to 9,549.47 — its seventh straight day of decline as investors succumbed to jitters about a possible glut of new bank shares after Mitsubishi UFJ announced plans to raise capital. The bank’s shares fell 3.7 percent.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 197.17 points, or 0.9 percent, to 22,643.16, while Taiwan’s benchmark shed 0.1 percent and Indonesia’s market was 0.6 percent lower.

Other markets fared better: South Korea’s Kospi added 1 percent to lead the region and China’s Shanghai index rose 0.5 percent. In Singapore, shares were up 0.6 percent after the city-state reported a second straight quarter of growth as manufacturing and service sectors helped it surface from a deep recession. The economy was seen expanding between 3 percent and 5 percent next year, the government said.

Oil prices hovered above $79 a barrel, with benchmark crude for December delivery down 11 cents to $79.47 a barrel.

Gold prices eased after a strong run saw it top $1,150 per ounce for the first time ever — they were down 90 cents an ounce, or 0.1 percent, to $1,140.30.

Meanwhile, the dollar fell 0.7 percent to 88.70 but was up against the euro, which was trading 0.7 percent lower at $1.4859.

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AP Business Writer Jeremiah Marquez in Hong Kong contributed to this report.