7:30AM Asian falls on Japan techs and HK property shares declines.
Asian markets ended lower on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 Average in Tokyo fell 1.67% to 16,012.41. Electronics conglomerate NEC Corp. was down 2.91% and Hitachi Ltd declined 2.68%. Sony decreased 1.58%. Carmakers also fell on concerns a rise in U.S. interest rates could crimp sales. Honda Motor led the decliners in the Japanese auto sector, falling 2.75%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed down 0.94% to 17,096.44. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed mainland shares fell 0.46%. Property stocks such as New World Development and Hang Lung Properties ;ed the decliners, dropping respectively 1.16% and 2.18%. South Korea Kospi Index fell 0.43%, with LG Electronics dropping 1.6%. The central bank of the country said Thursday morning it was keeping the benchmark overnight call rate target steady at 4.5%.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1%. Retailer Coles Myer fell 0.44% after saying Wednesday it had rejected a takeover bid from a leveraged buyout consortium. China Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7% following three straight sessions of gains.


7:15AM Europe slips on inflation fears and Tomkins issue.
European markets were lower by mid-day on Thursday. London’s FTSE 100 slipped 1% to 5,871.3, while Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax shed 0.5% to 5,781.56 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.8% to 5,074.76. Tomkins, British engineering company, issued a profit warning about the state of the U.S. residential and automotive equipment markets only a month after its first-half results. The company plunged 13%.

Construction products supplier Wolseley lost 2.5% and Lafarge dropped 1.7%. Michelin declined 1.3%, while DaimlerChrysler fell 0.8%. A few companies advanced on strong earnings reports. Ahold rose 4% after the supermarket operator surpassed expectations with a 70% profit in its second quarter profit. Carrefour gained 1.2% after the retailer and the operator of supermarkets in France, Italy and Spain reported an 11% profit climb. InBev rose 2.5% after the brewer of Brahma and Stella Artois reported a 12% rise in its second-quarter profit.