Stocks: Thursday’s review

According to trade in major stock indexes Asia-Pacific region closed in the red. In this case, a pronounced negative trend exhibited banks, primarily in China. Moody's on Thursday night lowered the ceiling of the country rating of Cyprus to "Caa2" because of the increasing threat of exit from the island nation eurozone. U.S. National Association of Realtors reported that the index of pending home sales in the secondary market in February, down 0.4% from the previous month. The experts expect a decrease in this indicator, which is a leading indicator of activity in the property market by 0.3%. Pending sales - those which have already been signed, but the transaction has not closed. Usually at its end takes between four to six weeks.

In Japan, the stock market drop has increased after the performance of the new head of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda in the upper house of parliament, as the lack of specifics in his speech led to the strengthening of the yen.

Nikkei 225 12,335.96 -157.83 -1.26%

Hang Seng 22,299.63 -165.19 -0.74%

S & P / ASX 200 4,966.5 -28.49 -0.57%

Shanghai Composite 2,236.3 -64.96 -2.82%

The stock price of Japan's largest electronics exporter Sony Corp., Which gets 38% of revenue in the U.S. and Europe fell by 3%.

Papers of the first Chinese bank without state capital China Minsheng Banking Corp. collapsed in price by 7.4% in Hong Kong trading.

The market value of the Japanese manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries GS Yuasa Corp. fell by 11% after Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced on fire a car battery company and another meltdown. Previously, problems with the production of GS Yuasa batteries for aircraft Boeing-787 Dreamliner.

Markets in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore will be closed on March 29 due to Good Friday.

European stocks were little changed this week as uncertainty in Cyprus and a political deadlock in Italy overshadowed better-than-estimated U.S. and German economic data.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) fell 0.1 percent in a four-day week before the Easter holiday, after declining the most in four months the previous week.

In Europe, German retail sales unexpectedly climbed in February, rising 0.4 percent. That followed a revised 3 percent in January and compared to the median economist forecast for a 0.6 percent decline.

National benchmark indexes still fell in 14 of the 18 western European markets.

FTSE 100 6,411.74 +24.18 +0.38% CAC 40 3,731.42 +19.78 +0.53% DAX 7,795.31 +6.22 +0.08%

Espirito Santo (BES), Portugal’s biggest publicly traded bank, plunged 12 percent in Lisbon. Banco Comercial Portugues SA, the second-largest, lost 10 percent.

Kazakhmys Plc tumbled 16 percent as it cut its 2012 dividend by 60 percent to 11 cents a share and reported a full- year loss after the value of its stake in Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. dropped by more than half.

Telefonica SA slumped 8.3 percent after Spain’s biggest telephone operator sold about 975 million euros worth of treasury stock to help reduce its debt.

Ziggo rallied 13 percent after John Malone’s Liberty Global paid about 632.5 million euros for a stake in the Dutch cable- television operator from Barclays Plc after the U.K. lender last week failed to find enough buyers in a share sale.

Major stock indexes rose, ending trading at session highs.

U.S. stocks edged higher as the S&P 500 rose just above its record closing high, a level that has acted as a significant resistance point in recent weeks. The S&P 500 had been stuck in a fairly tight range, having traded within 10 points of the October 2007 record closing high of 1,565.15 over the previous 13 sessions before successfully piercing that level on Thursday morning, as buyers moved in on signs of weakness during that time frame to quickly erase any declines. A close above the record level could signify more gains, although investors may tread lightly with government payroll data and earnings season on the horizon.

U.S. stocks were set to close out a strong quarter with the S&P 500 up 9.8 percent for the first three months of 2013. The Dow was up 11.1 percent and the Nasdaq up 7.9 percent.

For the month of March, the S&P 500 is up 3.4 percent, the Dow is up 3.6 percent and the Nasdaq is up 3.2 percent. Thursday is the U.S. stock markets' last trading day of the quarter because of the Good Friday holiday. Data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but probably not enough to suggest a faltering in the labor market's recovery. Other data showed theeconomy expanded more in the fourth quarter than was prevously estimated by the government. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer showed the pace of business activity in the Midwest slowed in March as the new order rate tumbled.

Most components of DOW index closed in plus. Shares of Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ, +1.15%) advanced more than other components. Shares of Chevron Corporation (CVX, -0.62%) fell more than other components

Most sectors of the S&P closed in plus. Most fell showed sector of conglomerates (-0.2%). Most growth showed sector of utilities (+1.1%).

At the close:

Dow +48.69 14,574.85 +0.34%

Nasdaq +11 3,267.52 +0.34%

S&P +6.08 1,568.93 +0.39%