World stocks retreat as Wall St in red

Hong Kong: European markets opened weaker, while Asian stocks fell on Monday after Wall Street logged its worst week since Halloween. The futures for the S&P-500 edged 0.1 per cent lower and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 per cent, after Congressional leaders reached an agreement on overall spending levels for the current fiscal year that could help avoid a partial government shutdown later this month. Oil prices fell after Saudi Arabia on Sunday cut oil prices to Asian markets to their lowest level in 27 months. Germany’s DAX gained 0.1 per cent to 16,620.57, with data showing exports rose 3.7 per cent in November while a feeble increase in factory orders showed the economy was still far from a solid recovery. The CAC-40 in Paris slipped 0.1 per cent to 7,413.53. Britain’s FTSE-100 lost 0.3 per cent to 7,670.10. In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 1.9 per cent to 16,179.00, led by losses for property and technology shares, which dropped 3.3 per cent.

The Shanghai Composite index slipped 1.4 per cent to 2,887.54. Property shares were heavily sold following news that major Chinese shadow bank Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, a major lender to real estate developers, filed for bankruptcy in Beijing. Meanwhile, troubled developer China Evergrande’s electric vehicle company said its vice chairman had been detained on suspicion of unspecified crimes. China announced sanctions Sunday against five American defense-related companies in response to US arms sales to Taiwan and US sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals.