Confusion over the fate of Washington’s £700bn financial sector bailout plan amid political wrangling weighed on investors in Asia after stocks in the US and Europe rallied Thursday on earlier signs that an agreement had been reached, as money market stresses deepened and US regulators seized Washington Mutual.
US markets (Thurs)
DJIA up 196.89 at 11,022.06
Nasdaq up 30.89 at 2,186.57
S&P500 up 23.31 at 1,209.18
Asian markets (Fri)
05:17am BST
Nikkei down 149.72 at 11,856.81
Topix down 13.37 at 1,140.58
Hang Seng down 401.18 at 18.533.25
European markets (Thurs)
FTSE100 up 101.45 at 5,197.02
Eurofirst 300 up 23.83 at 1,125.43
Currencies
05.14am BST
€/$ 1.4676 (1.4702)
$/Y 105.71 (105.84)
£/$ 1.8424 (1.8559)
Commodities (updated)
Brent Crude (Nov08) down $1.05 at $103.55
Light Crude (Nov08) down $1.22 at $106.80
3M Copper 24HR up $20.00 at $6,935.00
100 Oz Gold (Dec8) up $2.00 at $884.00
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 3.80 (3.81)
UK 4.62 (4.57)
Germany 4.23 (4.16)
Japan 1.46 (1.48)
Sources: FT, Reuters