Daily Markets: Lingering Banking Worries Dampen Market Mood
Nasdaq Todays Big Picture
Asia-Pacific equity markets finished the day down across the board except for Taiwans TAIEX, which posted a 0.32% gain on Health Technology and Communications strength. Japans Nikkei declined 0.13%, Australias ASX All Ordinaries fell 0.15%, and South Koreas KOSPI dropped 0.39% while Chinas Shanghai Composite, Hong Kongs Hang Seng, and Indias SENSEX all closed between 0.64% and 0.69% lower to close out the week. European markets are down in midday trading, in many cases approaching or over 2% as banking fears resurface and U.S. futures point to a lower open.
Renewed pressure on Deutsche Bank (DB) shares have rekindled concerns over the European banking sector following UBSs quickly-announced acquisition of rival Credit Suisse (CS) last weekend. This is dragging down not only U.S. futures but shares of most banks as evidenced by the current near 3% pre-market drop in the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE). That move lower comes despite Treasury Secretary Janet Yellens comments yesterday that regulators are prepared to take additional actions to ensure Americans' deposits are safe, even after ruling out coverage of all uninsured deposits at U.S. banks.
