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136525 Resource 133529 134041 134041 1154621323931 1154621367766 Controlled European Stocks drop after Rate increases & US Indices open with a downwards push

European stocks fell today after the Bank of England raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.75% (the first increase in two years), causing concern that economic growth will fade. The European Central Bank too raised rates by 0.25%, as expected.

The FTSE closed at 5838.40 down 93.7 ointsThe CAC closed at 4983.68 down 55 pointsThe DAX closed at 5640.03 48.26 points Siemens AG and Persimmon Plc showed drops in share value, due to companies that are most vulnerable to loss of earning through economic slowdown. Siemens fell 1.6% to 62.43 and Persimmon declined 4.3% to 1,239. Unilever and Total SA, <place w:st="on" />Europe</place />’s third largest Oil Company, dropped after companies reported earnings that missed analyst’s estimates. The FTSE slid 1.6% paced by HBOS Plc and Land Securities Group Plc. <country-region w:st="on" /><place w:st="on" />Germany</place /></country-region />’s DAX Index declined 0.8%, as did the CAC. Taylor Woodrow Plc, <country-region w:st="on" /><place w:st="on" />Britain</place /></country-region />’s biggest homebuilder by revenue, slid 3.9% to 336.5 pence. The company said first half profit dropped 4.8% as a switch to smaller, entry level cheaper house prices. HBOS lost 3.1% to 958 pence Land Securities, <place w:st="on" />Europe</place />’s largest real-estate company, slipped 2.7% to 1,921 pence. Unilever declined 5.1% to 18.09 euros in <city w:st="on" /><place w:st="on" />Amsterdam</place /></city />. 2nd quarter earnings lagged behind predictions of 1.01 billion Euros. Total declined 1.2% to 51.8 Euros. Profit increased but fell short of analyst’s estimates of 3.42 billion Euros, as rebel attacks in <country-region w:st="on" />Nigeria</country-region /> and the seizure of fields in <country-region w:st="on" />Venezuela</country-region /> and <country-region w:st="on" /><place w:st="on" />Bolivia</place /></country-region /> curbed production. Technology shares fell the most among EuroStoxx, dropping 1.5%. Losers included Ericssion and <place w:st="on" /><city w:st="on" />Getronics</city /> <state w:st="on" />NV</state /></place />. ITV climbed 1.7% to 103.25. Johnston Press Plc Chairman Roger Parry is working on a possible bid for the company, as reported by the Gaurdian. Its share value rose 1.7% to 385.8 pence.  GKN Plc, which makes parts for Airbus SAS planes and parts for Ford Motor Co., advanced 6.4% to 279.25 pence. The company reported 1st half profit, more than doubled, helped by a lower tax bill and higher demand for airliner components.  Trinity Mirror Plc, added 4.4% to 466.5 pence after the company said it was reviewing it’s business strategy, which may included the selling of assets. To watch For:06.00 BA release 1st quarter earnings. 07.00 Anglo American Plc earning figures out. 09.30 RBS executives on 1st half earnings.13.30 Change in US Nonfarm Payrolls and Unemployment Rate out. 9 application/xml false BA Bank of England BOE CAC DOW ECB FTSE HBOS interest rates ITV Nonfarm Payrolls RBS Siemens Unilever Trade with GFT http://www.gftuk.com/land/index.asp?aid=53 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 mslaney false true false false true 133529 blog blogsite/GFTUK/web