capitals (agencies)
Banking stocks fell on many European and Asian stock exchanges again yesterday after a turbulent week as investors worried that the worst problems in the sector since the 2008 financial crisis had yet to be contained.
Banking and financial services stocks pushed markets lower as concerns persisted about the health of the sector, with news of a US investigation into Credit Suisse and UBS adding pressure on stocks.
Major Banks Index
In detail, the index of major European banks fell 2.2% in early trading, with the share of the Swiss bank (UBS) declining 6.4%.
Deutsche Bank fell 5.4% after a sharp jump in the cost of insuring against default late on Monday. Financial services shares fell 1.5%.
Raiffeisen Bank International fell 1.8% after Archyde.com reported that the European Central Bank was pressuring the Austrian bank to abandon its lucrative business in Russia.
Across Europe, the European Stoxx 60 index fell 0.9% by 08:09 GMT, but a strong recovery earlier this week made it on its way to achieving weekly gains.
Investor confidence
After the sudden collapse this month of two US banks sparked turmoil in the sector, UBS rushed to take over Credit Suisse on Sunday after the ailing Swiss bank lost investor confidence.
According to two informed sources, the Swiss authorities and UBS are racing to complete the takeover within a month in an effort to retain Credit Suisse customers and employees.
American investigations
Bloomberg News reported that Credit Suisse and UBS are among the banks under scrutiny in a US Justice Department investigation into whether financial professionals helped wealthy Russians evade sanctions.
Credit Suisse and UBS declined to comment, while the Ministry of Justice did not respond to emailed requests from Archyde.com for comment.
The decline in European banking stocks follows US losses yesterday as investors were looking to see to what extent the authorities would support the sector, especially the fragile banks.
For the fourth time in a week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke yesterday to reassure the public that the US banking system is safe.
She told US lawmakers that bank regulators and the Treasury Department are ready to provide blanket guarantees on deposits at other banks, as they have done at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Asian stock exchanges
The Asian stock exchanges did not escape the decline, as the Chinese stock indices fell at the end of trading yesterday, to give up their highest levels in two weeks, with exposure to limited profit-taking operations. The Hang Seng index closed down by 0.67%, equivalent to 134 points, to reach the level of 19915.68 points. The SSI Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange fell by 0.64%, or 21 points, to reach 3,265.65 points.
Yen rise
Japanese stocks also closed lower as the yen’s rise raised concerns about falling profits for local companies, while investors continued to worry about a broader banking crisis.
The Nikkei index decreased by 0.13%, to close at 27,385.25 points, down by 0.19% during the week.
The broader Topix index fell 0.10% to 1955.32 points, recording a weekly loss of 0.2%.
“The yen’s rise was the reason for the market downturn, while investors are still assessing the turmoil in the banking sector,” said Shuichi Arisawa, general manager of investment research at Iwai Cosmo Securities.
The yen touched a six-week high against the dollar as traders continued to evaluate hints from the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) regarding a temporary halt to raising interest rates.
Risk appetite affected
Risk appetite took a hit after the collapse of the Silicon Valley bank and liquidity problems at Swiss bank Credit Suisse raised concerns about a global financial crisis. Fast Retailing, which owns Uniqlo stores, fell 1.01 percent, which pushed the Nikkei index lower.
Shares of oil exploration companies fell 1.27 percent, to be the worst performer among the 33 sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after the drop in oil prices.
Financial companies recorded a weak performance, with the banking index declining by 0.77 percent and the insurance index falling by 0.77 percent. Tokio Marine Insurance Holding Company recorded the biggest decline among the top 30 major companies listed on the Topix index, down 1.19 percent, followed by Mitsubishi UFJ Group, down 1.10 percent.
Among the stocks listed on the Nikkei index, 69 rose and 149 fell, while seven stocks were stable.