Overnight global stock market watch 10/23-24

[Newsjock]

A tough open:
Nikkei 225 8,120.73 -340.25 -4.02%

U.S. futures down:
S&P 500 -4.70 910.50 10/23 8:46pm
NASDAQ -7.50 1246.00 10/23 8:33pm
Dow Jones -50.00 8724.00 10/23 8:20pm

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCATKG00304920081024?rpc=44

TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average slid 4 percent on Friday, dragged down by Sony Corp after it halved its full-year profit forecast, while spooked investors dumped shares in other exporters on fears about their earnings prospects.

Shares of Sony plunged more than 11 percent in early trade after the company slashed its annual operating profit forecast by 57 percent to far below market estimates in its second downward revision this year, blaming a firmer yen and slower flat TV and digital camera demand.

[Newsjock]

1. Samsung Elec Q3 net down 44 percent on weak chips

Nikkei 225 8,046.99 -413.99 -4.89%
Hang Seng 13,221.14 -539.35 -3.92%
Straits Times 1,683.69 -61.98 -3.55%

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/081023/business_us_samsung_results.html?.v=1

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Friday posted a 44 percent drop in third-quarter profit as persistent weakness in its memory business offset a solid performance in flat screens and mobile phones.

Samsung, the world's top maker of memory chips and liquid crystal displays (LCDs), reported July-September net profit fell to 1.22 trillion won ($870.5 million) from 2.19 trillion won a year ago and 2.14 trillion won earned in April-June.

The figure came in line with a forecast for a 1.23 trillion won net profit by 11 analysts polled by Reuters.

[Newsjock]

2. Australian market down slightly at noon

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24545454-462,00.html

The share market was weaker at noon, turning around from positive territory, as the major banks and miners fell.

At 12.00pm (AEDT), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 1.42 per cent to 3918.1, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 1.4 per cent 3884.2.

Brokers said falls in Asian markets and on-going jitters about credit issues had shaved away the gains seen at the start of trading today.

... A number of companies today warned their profits would fall as a result of the global economic and financial crisis.

[readmoreoften]

3. Looks like the Japanese market is in the time out chair.

[girl gone mad]

9. They take a 90 minute lunch break every day. n/t

[Newsjock]

4. Nikkei dives below 8,000, lowest in nearly 5-½ yrs

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINTKU00312120081024?rpc=44

TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average tumbled below 8,000 yen on Friday, its lowest in nearly five and a half years, after Sony Corp tumbled on a profit warning and dragged other exporters down on earnings worries.

The yen advanced against both the dollar and the euro, further undercutting exporters. Toyota Motor Corp also slid.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 had lost 6.7 percent to 7,898.18 by 0333 GMT. The broader Topix lost 5.3 percent to 824.73.

[Newsjock]

5. U.S. futures look bleak at midnight

S&P 500 -16.50 898.70 10/23 11:52pm
NASDAQ -11.50 1242.00 10/23 11:49pm
Dow Jones -189.00 8585.00 10/23 11:51pm

[TheWatcher]

6. Asia just doesn't seem to be buying the bullshit we were selling earlier this afternoon.

Didn't they get the memo? Everything is Fine. Stammerin' Hank is standing by with a new "Save The System" program at any given moment, and Helo Ben's Fiat Firehawks are ready to shower the world in green toilet paper.

They should be more trusting.

[Newsjock]

7. Asia stocks tumble, yen surges as fears rise

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/081024/business_us_markets_global.html?.v=1

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks slumped on Friday, led by a 7 percent drop in South Korean shares, as the global economic slowdown and emerging market instability hurt an array of corporate outlooks, pushing up government bonds and the yen.

... South Korean stocks have been especially hit hard this year with the benchmark KOSPI index poised for the biggest weekly decline since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The index was down 7 percent on the day, falling below the psychologically key level of 1,000 points for the first time since June 2005.

"The 1,000-point level has a lot of meaning for the Korean stock market. It took 16 years to get there and the level collapsed just in a year, with investors completely losing confidence about economy and government bailouts," said Kim Seong-ju, a market analyst at Daewoo Securities in Seoul.

[Newsjock]

8. U.S. futures continue downward

S&P 500 -19.70 895.50 10/24 1:10am
NASDAQ -14.75 1238.75 10/24 1:03am
Dow Jones -214.00 8560.00 10/24 1:07am

And CNBC is carrying CNBC Europe at the moment, not the pre-recorded documentary that the program guide says was scheduled for this hour.

[Newsjock]

10. UK data 'to show economy shrunk'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7686552.stm

Official figures due out are expected to show the UK economy shrank between July and September, confirming the country is on the brink of recession.

Forecasts of Gross Domestic Product - the country's domestic economic output - suggest data will show a fall of between 0.1% and 0.5% in the period.

The figures would mark the first period of negative growth since 1992.

Two consecutive quarters of negative growth are taken as the UK measure of being in recession.

[Newsjock]

11. Korea down 11.3%

^KS11 Seoul Composite 930.59 1:31AM ET -119.12 (11.35%)

[Newsjock]

12. Ouch, Dow futures -321

S&P 500 -30.40 884.80 10/24 1:51am
NASDAQ -20.25 1233.25 10/24 1:49am
Dow Jones -321.00 8453.00 10/24 1:51am

[Newsjock]

13. European stock index futures point to drop at open

Nikkei 225 7,661.10 -799.88 -9.45%
Hang Seng 13,118.97 -641.52 -4.66%
Straits Times 1,631.60 -114.07 -6.53%

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINLO55935420081024?rpc=44

FRANKFURT, Oct 24 (Reuters) - European stock index futures plunged on Friday, pointing to a lower opening, in the wake of steep falls on Asian equity markets.

At 0605 GMT, futures for the DJ Euro Stoxx STXEc1, for Germany's DAX FDXc1 and for the French CAC FCEc1 were down between 4.4 percent and 4.8 percent.

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Now I sleep before the opening bell.