By James Langton
(April 11 – 09:00 ET) – With economic data scarce, traders are left with earnings and market sentiment to guide their actions. Overseas traders are following yesterday’s Nasdaq plunge by selling techs and dragging most markets down.
In Europe, techs and telephones are down. Retailers are providing some resistance but the momentum is on the sell side. London’s FTSE has dropped 80 points to 6453. In Paris the CAC 40 has given up 76 points to 6288. Germany’s DAX is off least, down just 43 points to 7474.
In merger news, Chase Manhattan Corp. is acquiring U.K. investment bank Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd. for US$7.7 billion in cash and stock.
Microsoft Corp. has acquired a majority stake in Titus, Japan’s second-biggest cable company. A move to advance its push to provide broadband access in Asia.
In Asia the Nasdaq plunge ruled traders’ attention. In Japan the old economy blue chips fought back to temper the decline, but still the Nikkei dropped 96 points to 20522. In the Hong Kong the Hang Seng was slammed, dropping 363 points to 16487.