German stocks declined, paring their biggest two-day rally since April, as the country’s exports decreased more than economists had predicted and Spain’s debt rating was downgraded to within two notches of junk.
Commerzbank AG (CBK), Germany’s second-biggest lender, slid 3.3 percent. Allianz SE (ALV) fell 1.7 percent after agreeing to buy property and casualty assets from Groupama SA’s Gan Eurocourtage industrial-insurance unit. ThyssenKrupp AG (TKA), Germany’s largest steelmaker, retreated 3.6 percent after its credit rating was cut yesterday by Standard & Poor’s.
The DAX Index (DAX) dropped 0.6 percent to 6,109.51 at 11:54 a.m. in Frankfurt. The benchmark measure has tumbled 15 percent from its 2012 high on March 16 on growing concern that Greece will leave the euro currency union. The broader HDAX Index decreased 0.7 percent today.
“The export data shows the European debt crisis is affecting the real economy in the same way as in 2009 and the second half of 2011,” said Robert Halver, head of capital markets research at Baader Bank AG. “The bad mood is the biggest driver for the economy. This is a homemade crisis as European policy cannot solve the debt crisis.”
German exports fell 1.7 percent in April, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists had predicted a drop of 0.7 percent, according to the median of 14 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Exports increased 0.9 percent in March.
German Export Growth
German export growth has suffered as eight euro-area countries entered a recession. China’s economy, Germany’s seventh-biggest export market, slowed in the first quarter.
Commerzbank dropped 3.3 percent to 1.39 euros.
Allianz fell 1.7 percent to 71.45 euros. Europe’s biggest insurer agreed to pay more than 100 million euros ($125 million) for the businesses, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be identified because the parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction excludes Gan Eurocourtage’s transport activities, Munich-based Allianz said.
ThyssenKrupp decreased 3.6 percent to 12.06 euros. The steelmaker’s rating was cut to BB from BB+ by S&P after the ratings company predicted a “very weak” performance this year. S&P cited high losses from its U.S. business and lower-than- estimated profit from its European operations.
Volkswagen AG (VOW) fell 2.4 percent to 120.50 euros after Europe’s largest carmaker was added to UBS AG’s list of least preferred European automakers.
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, slid 1.7 percent to 58.58 euros. BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., BMW’s joint venture in China, started to take orders for five models of the company’s new generation extended and standard 3-series today, it said in a statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Morgan in Frankfurt at jmorgan157@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
Stocks help lift U.S. household wealth in first quarter - Daily Oklahoman
Household net worth rose 4.7 percent to $62.9 trillion last quarter, according to a Federal Reserve report released Thursday. The main reason was a 12 percent jump in the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which padded the portfolios of Americans who own stocks.
Home values increased 2.3 percent.
But since March ended, the progress Americans have made to recover the wealth they lost in the Great Recession has hit another bump. Stocks sank 6 percent in May amid rising fears about Europe's debt crisis and a weakening U.S. economy.
Household wealth, or net worth, reflects the value of assets like homes, bank accounts and stocks, minus debts like mortgages and credit cards. It bottomed during the recession at $49 trillion in the first quarter of 2009. It's still about 5 percent below its pre-recession peak of $66 trillion.
Shares rise and fall
The overall gain in Americans' net worth was driven by the biggest quarterly rise in the S&P 500 in 14 years. But the stock index has since shed about half that increase.
The surge in stocks also didn't help as many Americans as it would have in the past. The percentage of U.S. households that own individual stocks or stock mutual funds declined to 46 percent last year, from 59 percent in 2001, according to the Investment Company Institute.
For most American households, home equity, not stocks, represents their main source of wealth.
SE Asia Stocks-Most edged lower; Thai stocks rebound - Reuters UK
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