European stocks fell for a fourth straight day as banks and insurers tumbled on renewed worries over mortgage-related losses, while investors gave a cold initial reception to a US economic stimulus package.
In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 1.25% to 5,092, Frankfurt’s DAX dropped 1.34% to 7,314, while London's FTSE 100 index was virtually unchanged, finishing just 0.01% lower at 5,902 in very volatile trade. Today's drop was limited by a sharp rise in mining shares, rallying on consolidation talk. Xstrata gained 8.6% and Rio Tinto rose 4.9%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was down 0.2% at 5.45pm Irish time, giving up early gains after US President George W Bush said a stimulus package should be equal to about 1% of Gross Domestic Product, roughly $140 billion dollars. The Nasdaq was almost flat, losing just 0.01% to 2,347.
Early gains were also fuelled by the news that GE's fourth-quarter and full-year 2007 profits met most analysts' expectations. The diversified company said fourth-quarter profits rose 4% to $6.7 billion, bringing 2007 earnings to $22.2 billion.
In Dublin, the ISEQ closed up 0.7% at 6,534, with Independent up two cent at €2.24 after buying out a South African outdoor advertising business. Banks were also strong, with Bank of Ireland gaining 24 cent to €9.57.
Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index ended up 0.6%, or 78 points, at 13,861 in anticipation of the US measures, staging a dramatic late turnaround after tumbling earlier in the session.
