Warren Buffett“A public opinion poll is no substitute for thought.”
Adlin Sinclair“Success is a welcomed gift for the uninhibited mind.”
Alcoa weighs on world stocks (AP)
. kicked off the fourth quarter U.S. corporate reporting season with disappointing earnings and China tightened monetary policy once again.
of leading British shares was down 75.19 points, or 1.4 percent, at 5,462.88 while
fell 82.49 points, or 1.4 percent, to 5,958.01. The CAC-40 in France was 43.77 points, or 1.1 percent, lower at 3,999.32.
U.S. stocks were also poised to open lower following a modest advance on Monday —
were 67 points, or 0.6 percent, lower at 10,537 while the broader
futures fell 8 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,134.50.
Sentiment has been dented by below-forecast earnings from Alcoa, the world’s biggest aluminum producer. The company reported earnings, after stripping out exceptional items, of only 1 cent a share — short of the 5 cents predicted in the markets.
could be the theme of what is likely to be a fairly mixed and crucial earnings season,” said James Hughes, market analyst at CMC Markets.
With economic data this week on the light side, attention will continue to focus on earnings statements to see if the increasing optimism on
, that has seen stocks enjoy a ten-month bull run, is justified by the fundamentals.
, at least in the first part of the year, will likely be whether economic and corporate figures, particularly out of the U.S., back up the optimism that is evident in company valuations.
and governments pushed through extraordinary policy measures to mitigate the deepest recession since World War II.
Investors are particularly interested to see if companies’ sales are improving — that would provide clear evidence that the global economic recovery is on a solid footing and that earnings can be lifted by more than just cost-cutting.
Earlier, most stock markets declined, though
stock average, which was closed for a public holiday on Monday, ended 80.82 points, or 0.8 percent, higher at 10,879.15.
, Asia’s largest carrier, dived 45 percent to a new record low amid fears it will file for bankruptcy protection.
, meanwhile, dropped 84.88 points, or 0.4 percent, to 22,326.64 and Australia’s benchmark slid 1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.3 percent to 1,698.64.
China’s Shanghai index jumped 61.22 points, or 1.9 percent, to 3,273.97 even though the
to 1.84 percent, having been steady since August.
could be in the offing as Chinese economic growth accelerates.
are sensibly taking early steps to avoid overheating in the property market but the Chinese economy should continue to perform well during 2010,” said Neil Mackinnon,
strategist at VTB Capital.
Elsewhere, Singapore’s market lost 0.5 percent and
retreated 0.2 percent
In oil markets, benchmark crude for February delivery was down 48 cents to $82.04 a barrel in
. On Monday, a weakening U.S. dollar helped push the contract to a 15-month high near $84 a barrel before it settled down 23 cents at $82.52.
The dollar fell 0.4 percent to 91.69 yen while the euro dipped 0.2 percent to $1.4483.
newspaper argued the case in favor of Greece leaving the euro zone and EU officials warned about irregularities in the country’s budget statistics.
and at this stage it is way too early to bet that the system will break down,” said Jane Foley, research director at
Forex.com
. “That said, the euro will remain vulnerable to negative news surrounding budgets within the eurozone going forward.”
contributed to this report.