World stock markets slide as gloomy US consumer report, Bernanke report inspire caution

World markets slide ahead of Bernanke report

HONG KONG — World stock markets slid Wednesday as a plunge in American consumer confidence magnified worries about the U.S. recovery and investors tread carefully ahead of Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s testimony before Congress.

Losses in Asia, which tracked overnight declines in U.S. and Europe, followed a two-day advance. The dollar weakened against the yen and euro, while oil prices fell to near $78 a barrel.

Sellers were emboldened by news a key measure of U.S. consumer confidence dropped sharply.

The dive in the U.S. Conference Board index to 46 in February from 56.5 last month suggested the world’s largest economy will heal at a slower pace than expected. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, making the financial health of ordinary Americans critical to any lasting rebound.

“It seems to be one foot forward, one foot back in the U.S.,” said Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB-GK research in Singapore. “The ebb and the flow of the U.S. economy will still continue to have a large influence over Asia, so we’ll probably see more choppiness in our markets.”

The news added to uneasiness before Fed Chairman Bernanke’s testimony to lawmakers Wednesday and Thursday. What the central bank chief has to say about the outlook for interest rates and the economy will be in sharp focus.

Fresh anxiety about the U.S. overshadowed new signs international trade was picking up. Japan’s exports jumped more than 40 percent last month from a year earlier, fueled by robust demand for vehicles and high-tech goods in Asia.

Early going in Europe, indexes in Britain, Germany and France fell 0.1 percent or more. With U.S. futures down, Wall Street was headed for a slightly lower open.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average fell 153.27 points, or 1.5 percent, to 10,198.83, though traded off the day’s low point. Toyota Motor Corp. was off 1.5 percent before the embattled automaker’s president was to appear at a U.S. hearing on the company’s safety lapses.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.8 percent to 20,467.74 and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1 percent to 1,612.83.

Australia’s market fell 1.5 percent and Singapore lost 0.7 percent. Shanghai’s market bucked the broader selling, rising 1.3 percent.

Analysts said Chinese shares recovered after investors realized they might have overreacted to a hike in minimum bank reserves earlier this month that fed into fears of lower liquidity in the economy and asset markets.

“This is merely a technical recovery, but the worries on liquidity constraints still remained,” said Li Bin, an analyst for Guolian Securities in the eastern Chinese city of Wu Xi.

In oil, the benchmark contract fell 46 cents to $78.40 after shedding $1.45 overnight.

The dollar was down slightly at 90.09 yen from 90.21 yen. The euro rose to $1.3526 from $1.3509.

In the U.S. Tuesday, the Dow fell 100.97, or 1 percent, to 10,292.41 after being up around 19 before the consumer confidence index was released.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 13.41, or 1.2 percent, to 1,094.60, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 28.59, or 1.3 percent, to 2,213.44.

AP researcher Bonnie Cao in Beijing contributed to this story.