Stocks: Thursday’s review

Asian stocks slid, with the benchmark regional index headed to its lowest close in more than a week, amid uncertainty about European bailout-fund talks and as U.S. companies grew more Europe’s leaders have pledged to use a meeting this weekend to develop a plan to tackle the crisis. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the group of euro-area finance ministers, indicated an Oct. 19 meeting of European leaders in Frankfurt failed to resolve differences ahead of a summit scheduled for this weekend. French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said the region’s bailout fund could be improved with help from the European Central Bank, a position opposed by the ECB and Germany. The Fed’s Beige Book survey showed companies reported more doubt about the recovery even as the economy maintained its expansion last month.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 1.6 percent after a report from National Australia Bank Ltd. showed the nation’s third- quarter business confidence fell to a three-year low. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated 1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.8 percent as Chinese companies fell amid slower economic growth and signs that tighter monetary policy will persist while inflation remains high.

Builder Supalai Pcl sank 4.2 percent to 11.30 baht, while L.P.N. Development Public Co. retreated 1 percent to 9.80 baht as KGI Securities (Thailand) Pcl cut Thai residential property to “underweight” from “overweight” to reflect the impact of the global economic slowdown and prolonged flooding.

Sharp slid 2.1 percent to 667 yen in Tokyo, while Nintendo Co., the maker of Wii game consoles which gets about 41 percent of its revenue from Europe, sank 1.8 percent to 11,800 yen in Osaka. Esprit slumped 7.8 percent to HK$10.48 in Hong Kong.

BHP slid 2.5 percent to A$35.48 in Sydney. Jiangxi Copper Co., China’s No. 1 producer of the metal, fell 3.7 percent to HK$15 in Hong Kong. Korea Zinc Co., a producer of precious metals, plunged 10 percent to 279,000 won in Seoul.

Newcrest Mining sank 6.4 percent to A$33.45 in Sydney. The Melbourne-based company said its gold output for the three months ended September fell to 587,296 ounces from 674,219 ounces a year earlier.

Nanya Technology Corp., a Taiwanese memory-chip maker, tumbled 6.8 percent to NT$3.58 after its third-quarter net loss widened to NT$12 billion ($398 million) from NT$2.27 billion a year earlier.

Chinese shares slumped after Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said risks stemming from private lending must be “strictly controlled,” and such loans will be curbed. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s third-biggest lender by market value, sank 1.4 percent to HK$2.84 in Hong Kong, while China Citic Bank Corp. slumped 2.1 percent to 4.25 yuan in Shanghai.

Among stocks that rose, Huabao International Holdings Ltd., a supplier of flavors for tobacco and food, climbed 8.2 percent to HK$4.73 in Hong Kong. The company said controlling stockholder Chu Lam Yiu entered into a derivative transaction related to a long position equivalent to 94.7 million company shares.

In Japan, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility at the center of the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years, surged 36 percent to 292 yen. The shares have fallen 86 percent since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at the utility’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.

European stocks declined the most in two weeks amid concern the euro area’s leaders are far from agreeing on a plan to end the region’s debt crisis. Euro-area leaders are scheduled to meet on Oct. 23, with disagreement over the European Central Bank’s role threatening to hinder progress on the banking and economic questions needed to deliver the comprehensive strategy demanded by global policy makers. The German government hasn’t excluded postponing the summit because of stalling negotiations on boosting the firepower of the region’s rescue fund, Die Welt said, citing unidentified people close to the country’s governing coalition.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy flew to Frankfurt for an impromptu meeting last night with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet and International Monetary Fund Director Christine Lagarde. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the group of euro-area finance ministers, indicated the gathering failed to resolve differences. “We are still meeting,” he said as he departed.

National benchmark indexes fell in 16 of the 18 western European markets. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.2 percent, France’s CAC 40 retreated 2.3 percent and Germany’s DAX slipped 2.5 percent.

Banks led losses as the cost of insuring against default on European corporate debt climbed and the yield on Italian 10-year government bonds rose to more than 6 percent for the first time since August. Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s second-biggest bank, dropped 9.8 percent to 1.20 euros and UniCredit, the nation’s largest lender, tumbled 12 percent to 84.6 euro cents. France’s Societe Generale SA lost 7.6 percent to 17.97 euros in Paris.

Actelion plunged 9.7 percent to 30.70 Swiss francs, the biggest slump since March 2010, after it said product sales will fall in the low- to mid-single digit range next year in local currencies. The company cited increased pricing pressure and competition in the U.S.

Schneider Electric tumbled 7.6 percent to 41.22 euros. The company trimmed its 2011 profit target for the second time in four months on rising labor costs in emerging economies and said it may cut jobs. Earnings before interest, taxes and amortization will probably account for about 14 percent of revenue this year, down from a July forecast of about 15 percent, it said.

Nokia Oyj rallied 5.5 percent to 4.73 euros after the Finnish maker of mobile phones reported a smaller-than-estimated loss and forecast a profitable quarter for the handset business.

Ericsson AV, the world’s largest maker of wireless network equipment, rose 4 percent to 68.10 kronor after saying third- quarter net income climbed to 3.82 billion kronor ($580 million) from 3.68 billion kronor a year earlier. That topped the 3.66 billion-krona estimate of 21 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Home Retail Group Plc climbed 3.9 percent to 103.4 pence after a report showed U.K. retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.6 percent in September, the most in five months. Debenhams Plc, which reported better-than-estimated earnings today, advanced 7.7 percent to 67.6 pence.

Husqvarna AB gained 6.7 percent to 32.02 kronor, the biggest increase since July 2010. The world’s largest maker of powered gardening tools has solved U.S. production problems that have sapped profits this year, acting Chief Executive Officer Hans Linnarson said.

U.S. stocks rose, erasing earlier losses, after European governments considered deploying $1.3 trillion in funds to tame the sovereign debt crisis as France and Germany asked officials to agree on plans by Oct. 26. Stocks rebounded as two people familiar with the matter said Europe may combine the temporary and permanent rescue funds to unleash as much as 940 billion euros to fight the crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a joint statement they want euro-region leaders to agree on a “comprehensive and ambitious” plan by Oct. 26 at the latest. In the U.S., manufacturing in the Philadelphia area unexpectedly expanded in October at the fastest pace in six months, signaling factories are helping support a U.S. economy weighed down by weakness in the housing and labor markets.

Dow 11,541.78 +37.16 +0.32%, Nasdaq 2,598.62 -5.42 -0.21%, S&P 500 1,215.39 +5.51 +0.46%

Among component of Dow Jones Industrial Average two-thirds of companies have improved their results. Bank JPMorgan Chase & Co.(JPM) and aluminum giant Alcoa, Inc. (AA) substantial increased.

The world's largest maker of microprocessors Intel (INTL), said yesterday increasing by 3.6% after positive reporting, today demonstrated a maximum drop among the Dow components (-2.6%).

All industry sectors of the S& P 500 showed gains, led by conglomerates sector (+1.5%). Majority financial companies ended in the plus. Bank of America Corp. (BAC) has increased its market capitalization by 1.1%, while the other three largest U.S. banks, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Citigroup added more than 2.3%.

Philip Morris International Inc. added 3.6 percent to $68.38. The world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company reported third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates, helped by higher shipments and increased cigarette prices in Asia.