The fall in USA oil prices below the psychologically important 40 dollars per barrel hit investor sentiment, an official at a major securities firm said. That left Royal Caribbean’s stock down $4.51, or 6.3 percent, to $67.35.
Advertisement
The financial sector was among those that retraced previous gains, with the banking sub-index falling 2.9 percent on profit taking. It fell 55 cents on Wednesday to $39.51 a barrel.
The market was also dampened by falls in realtors, after the key 10-year Japanese government yield rose to its highest level in some four months, reflecting a weak auction result, brokers said.
CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH: Drugstore chain and pharmacy benefits manager CVS Health raised its 2016 forecasts as specialty drug prices kept rising and deals for Omnicare and Target’s pharmacy and clinic unit boosted its results. GM stock shed $1.17, or 3.7 percent, to $30.13 and Ford lost 46 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $12.03. “ORCRP0000017176-topic.html” class=”local_link” >Discovery Communications, the company behind TLC, Animal Planet and other channels, reported a profit that was larger than analysts expected as its US business got stronger.
Among the other major gainers, UNY Group is rising nearly 15 percent, Yamaha is gaining nearly 10 percent and Mitsubishi Corp.is higher by 7 percent.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 76 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $40.82 a barrel in NY.
The price of gold rose $13, or 1 percent, to $1,372.60 an ounce, and silver jumped 20 cents, or 1 percent, to $20.70 an ounce. Britain’s Barclays PLC was down 3 percent while Germany’s Commerzbank slid 6.4 percent and Italy’s UniCredit fell another 5.1 percent.
The market has been weighed by the yen’s recent appreciation and a drop by crude oil prices to three-month lows adding to the sombre mood. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both slumped by 1.8 percent.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.21 percent, while the Topix fell 1.43 percent as shares came under pressure due to yen strength.
Advertisement
Investor mood failed to be lifted by Tuesday’s large stimulus package as economists doubt it will have much of an impact on the country’s sluggish economy. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.5 percent to 2,019.70. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 0.6 percent to 2,157.03 and the Nasdaq composite slid 0.9 percent to 5,137.73. The dollar fell to 101.21 yen from 102.35 yen and the euro rose to $1.1214 from $1.1169.
