Stocks: Friday’s review

Following the session on Friday the major stocks from Asian region showed a negative trend the third consecutive day. The main negative factor was the statement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel was not necessary in the emergence of common European bonds, since they can lead to equalization of interest rates in the region. Go to the protracted problems in Europe also added to investors' concerns about the deteriorating debt in Japan, which led to the speculation that the international rating agency Standard & Poor's sovereign rating may reduce the country with the current AA-. Uncertainty of the results of general elections in New Zealand, to be held on Saturday, November 26, also increased the tendency to fire-sale prices.

According to trade in Chinese Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, the Australian S & P / ASX 200 and Japanese Nikkei 225 index and the South Korean Kospi lowered from its asset 0.7%, 1.4%, 1.5% and 0.1% respectively.

Shares of Europe's biggest lender HSBC Holdings fell 1.8% in trading in Hong Kong, while the paper Australian banks Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking fell 2.2% and 1.6% respectively.

Chinese container terminal operator Cosco Pacific's market capitalization decreased by 2.8%, while the paper's largest by market value in South Korea automaker Hyundai Motor fell 3.3%.

Quotes of the second largest oil producers in Australia's Woodside Petroleum fell by 5.8% due to expectations of a slowdown in production of oil in 2012.

At the same time, shares of a Japanese manufacturer of optical equipment, Olympus rose 8.6% on news of a possible resignation of the board of directors, vice president and internal auditor charged with fraud, which led to losses.

The third largest producer of microchips in Japan, Elpida Memory boosted its market capitalization by 7.9% due to increased SMBC Nikko Securities analysts rating its shares.

European stocks advanced, trimming the biggest weekly loss in two months, amid speculation that policy makers have discussed a proposal to drop private-sector involvement from their permanent bailout mechanism.

Euro-area states are considering dropping private sector involvement from the permanent bailout mechanism as part of wider treaty change discussions, Reuters reported, citing European Union officials.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy “confirmed their support for Italy, saying that they are aware that the collapse of Italy would inevitably lead to the end of the euro,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti told a Cabinet meeting, according to an e-mailed statement.

The European Financial Stability Facility may fail to raise enough funds to increase its capacity to more than 1 trillion euros as planned because of a deterioration in market conditions over the past month, the Financial Times reported, citing three unnamed senior euro-area officials.

European Central Bank Executive Board member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo said euro-area politicians should not rely on the ECB.

Italy sold six-month bills today, at double the yield compared with the last auction on Oct. 26. The Rome-based Treasury sold 8 billion euros ($10.6 billion) of 183-day bills to yield 6.504 percent. The yield at the sale last month was 3.535 percent.

The country’s bonds and bank shares fell after the sale. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA declined 1.2 percent to 24 euro cents. Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna Scrl slipped 3 percent to 4.61 euros.

Axa SA, the biggest French insurer, jumped 1.7 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended buying the shares.

A gauge of oil companies led the rebound in the Stoxx 600 as oil advanced in New York. Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s biggest oil company, rose 1.5 percent to 2,101 pence. Total, the region’s largest refiner by capacity, increased 2.4 percent to 35.69 euros. Statoil ASA, Norway’s national oil company, climbed 1.9 percent to 139.20 kroner.

Vedanta Resources Plc, the largest copper miner in India, dropped 2.8 percent to 928 pence. Copper headed for its fourth weekly drop on the London Metal Exchange.

Thomas Cook Group Plc rallied 10 percent to 18.02 pence, extending the gains from the past two days to 67 percent. The Daily Telegraph reported the tour operator’s lenders, a syndicate of 17 banks, are close to extending a 100 million- pound ($155 million) loan to it. The shares sank 75 percent on Nov. 22 after a collapse in bookings caused the tour operator to hold new talks with banks and delay its full-year results.

U.S. stocks fell, capping the worst Thanksgiving-week drop since 1932 in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as S&P cut Belgium’s rating and a report said Greece is demanding private investors accept larger losses on their debt.

Stocks reversed gains today as Reuters reported that Greece is demanding that new bonds issued to investors as part of a debt swap have a net present value of 25 percent, lower than the “high 40s the banks have in mind.” Belgium’s credit rating was cut one step to AA by S&P, which said bank guarantees, political instability and slowing economic growth will make it difficult to reduce the nation’s debt load.

Dow 11,231.94     -25.61 -0.23%, Nasdaq       2,441.58       -18.50 -0.75%, S&P 500    1,158.67       -3.12         -0.27%

Banks had the biggest gain in the S&P 500 among 24 industries, rising 1 percent. Wells Fargo & Co. jumped 1.3 percent to $23.51. BB&T Corp. rose 0.6 percent to $21.17.

Some of the biggest American companies fell today. Chevron retreated 1.6 percent to $92.29. Hewlett-Packard declined 1.5 percent to $25.39.

A measure of retailers in the S&P 500 fell 0.8 percent, the second-biggest decline among 24 industries. Sears Holdings slid 1.3 percent to $58.40. Wal-Mart rose 0.4 percent to $56.89. Amazon.com Inc., the biggest Internet retailer, slumped 3.5 percent to $182.40.

Black Friday arrived with consumer sentiment at levels previously reached during recessions, as a record share of households said this is a bad time to spend, according to the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index. The measure has reached minus 50 or less in nine of the past 10 weeks, an unprecedented performance in its 26-year history.