Thursday, May 17, 2012

Global shares drop on euro break-up fears

US stocks hit a four-month low on Thursday as rising Spanish bond yields increased investor anxiety over that country's banks and another round of weak data undermined hopes for US economic recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 156.06 points, or 1.24 percent, to 12,442.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 19.94 points, or 1.51 percent, to 1,304.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 60.35 points, or 2.10 percent, to 2,813.69.

European shares hit multi-month troughs and a key banking index its lowest mark ever, falling for a fourth straight session as an escalating banking crisis in Spain fuelled broader concerns about a euro zone break-up.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 closed 1.2 percent lower at 981.43 points while the Euro STOXX 50 index shed 1.3 percent to 2,146.91 points, hitting fresh five- and six-month closing lows, respectively.

In Asia, the Nikkei share average rose 0.9 percent as upbeat Japanese economic growth data trumped worry about Europe and investors shopped for bargains after yesterday's market tumble left the benchmark down 14 percent this quarter.

The Nikkei share average rose 0.9 percent as upbeat Japanese economic growth data trumped worry about Europe and investors shopped for bargains after yesterday's market tumble left the benchmark down 14 percent this quarter. The broader Topix index rose 1.1 percent to 747.16 .