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World stocks down on US jobs unease
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 02 - 07 - 2009


World stocks mostly fell Thursday as
investors braced for a crucial U.S. jobs report that is
expected to show another rise in unemployment and could
give markets renewed direction, according to AP.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares
was down 33.54 points, or 0.8 percent, at 4,307.17 while
Germany's DAX fell 77.23 points, or 1.6 percent, to
4,828.21. The CAC-40 in France was 36.75 points lower, or
1.1 percent, at 3,180.25. The softer start came after most
markets in Asia fell in the wake of a late retreat on Wall
Street.
«What's more, the air of caution is likely to continue
with traders eyeing those non-farm payroll figures out of
the U.S. this afternoon as essentially defining the mood
going into the long weekend break across the Atlantic,»
said Matt Buckland, a dealer at CMC Markets.
Analysts expect June's U.S. unemployment rate to rise
around 0.3 of a percentage point to a 26-year high of 9.7
percent with possibly another 400,000 jobs lost during the
month. Though still high, the job losses are much smaller
than the numbers recorded earlier in the year.
Economists believe a chunk of June's losses will be tied
to shutdowns at General Motors Corp. and the fallout from
the troubled auto industry.
«The U.S. jobs data tends to set the tone for the
financial markets at the start of the month,» said Neil
Mackinnon, chief economist at ECU Group, who expects the
pace of job cuts to continue to ease even as the
unemployment rate edges up to the 10 percent mark.
Many economists think the U.S. unemployment rate could
rise as high as 12 percent _ the post-World War II high was
10.8 percent at the end of 1982.
Figures earlier showed unemployment in the 16 countries
that use the euro spiked to a ten-year high in May,
reinforcing concerns that any recovery will take time with
so many people out of work. Eurostat, the statistics office
of the EU, said the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate
for the euro zone in May was 9.5 percent, up from April's
9.3 percent.
As unemployment is a lagging indicator, the number of
jobless will likely continue to rise for a while even when
the recession officially ends. Despite recent hopes that
the global economic downturn may be easing, investors are
fully aware that high unemployment levels will continue to
weigh on consumption and sentiment for many months and
years.
At the same time as the payrolls data is published in the
U.S., the European Central Bank's president Jean-Claude
Trichet will be standing up for his monthly press briefing
following an interest rate decision.
Though the rate-setting governing council is set to keep
its benchmark rate unchanged at the record low of 1
percent, Trichet is expected to note some early signs of
economic improvement while maintaining his view that
recovery will take time.
Stocks around the world managed to achieved one of the
best quarters in years during the second quarter _ the S&P
500 index in the U.S., for example, rose around 16 percent
during the quarter, its best performance since 1998 _ amid
hopes of a recovery around the world despite ongoing
worries about the global banking system, public finances
and the length and depth of the recession.
Earlier, most Asian markets fell, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225
stock average closing down 63.78 points, or 0.6 percent, at
9,876.15, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 200.68 points,
or 1.1 percent, to 18,178.05.
Elsewhere, Korea's Kospi closed flat in back-and-forth
trade. Markets in Australia and Shanghai gained while
Taiwan's benchmark rose 1.4 percent.


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