This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7345810.stm

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
World shares down on market fears Shares regain poise as fears ease
(39 minutes later)
World shares fell at the start of the week amid growing concerns over the state of the US economy and the possibility of a wider recession. US shares opened Monday trading only slightly lower after a surprise rise in American retail sales eased continuing recession fears.
Germany's Dax index shed 1% in morning trade after sharp falls in Asia while London's FTSE 100, France's Cac 40 also continued their recent downward trend. With official figures showing retail sales edging up in March, Wall Street's main Dow Jones index opened down just 1.71 points at 12,324.
China's benchmark index earlier fell 5.6% while Japan's Nikkei fell 3.1%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 3.5%. With Asian and European shares earlier falling sharply, analysts had expected US stocks to fall more steeply.
General Electric's surprise 6% profit fall late last week worried investors. The UK's FTSE 100 was down 47 points to 5,848 in afternoon trading in London.
Further bad news came out of the US on Monday with Wachovia, the country's fourth-largest bank, reporting a $350m (£176m) first-quarter loss due to credit problems and seeking a $7bn capital injection. Germany's Dax was 48 points lower, and France's Cac had given up 16 points in afternoon trade, trimming earlier losses.
Adding to concerns was Friday's survey that showed US consumer sentiment hit its lowest level in 26 years, which sent the Dow Jones down more than 2%. Japan's Nikkei had earlier finished sharply lower, losing 406 points, mirroring similar large declines across East Asia.
Poor results
Despite the surprise rise in US retail sales in March, other news suggests that signs of economic downturn are continuing.
For most of this year, we are going to be watching profit growth, or lack thereof Simon Doyle, Schroder Investment Management
Wachovia, the fourth-largest US bank, on Monday reported a $350m (£176m) first-quarter loss.
This followed after US General Electric posted a 6% fall in profits on Friday, and a closely-watched report said US consumer confidence was at a 26-year low.
"The fact that [GE] missed expectations really has spooked investors that the reporting season is going to show that the slowdown in the US is impacting corporate profits much more than expected," said Juliette Saly, analyst with ComSec."The fact that [GE] missed expectations really has spooked investors that the reporting season is going to show that the slowdown in the US is impacting corporate profits much more than expected," said Juliette Saly, analyst with ComSec.
We've seen the immediate effect of the credit crisis on financials and there is a second round effect where it hits activities and profit growth in broader corporates Simon Doyle, Schroder Investment Management
Philips Electronics shed 3% after seeing profits fall 28% for the first quarter.
Markets are awaiting economic data later on Monday to gauge the state of the world's largest economy.
Ranjan Singh, a dealer at IG Markets, said Asia was trying to "pre-empt any nasty surprise from the US retail sales" due on Monday.
'Risks'
In Europe, the FTSE 100 was down 44.2 points at 5851.3 at lunchtime while the Dax and Cac indices fell 74.9 and 28.91 points respectively in Frankfurt and Paris.
Pessimism over the outlook for the global economy has deepened in the last week with the International Monetary Fund sharply downgrading its forecast for global growth this year.
The World Bank, meanwhile, has warned of the stark threat to developing countries because of the sharp rise in food prices.The World Bank, meanwhile, has warned of the stark threat to developing countries because of the sharp rise in food prices.
Analysts said the credit crunch would inevitably take its toll on the performance of leading companies across the spectrum of industry.Analysts said the credit crunch would inevitably take its toll on the performance of leading companies across the spectrum of industry.
"We've seen the immediate effect of the credit crisis on financials and there is a second round effect where it hits activities and profit growth in broader corporates," said Simon Doyle, head of strategy at Schroder Investment Management in Sydney."We've seen the immediate effect of the credit crisis on financials and there is a second round effect where it hits activities and profit growth in broader corporates," said Simon Doyle, head of strategy at Schroder Investment Management in Sydney.
"For most of this year, we are going to be watching profit growth, or lack thereof. That is the big risk to equity markets now.""For most of this year, we are going to be watching profit growth, or lack thereof. That is the big risk to equity markets now."