BLBG : European, Asian Stocks Fall for the First Time in Five Days
Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- European and Asian stocks slid for the first time in five days and U.S. index futures retreated as investors speculated that a six-month rally in equity prices has outpaced the prospects for earnings growth.
Vivendi SA fell 1.9 percent after announcing plans to buy Brazilian telecommunications provider GVT (Holding) SA for about $3 billion. Alibaba.com Ltd., owner of China’s biggest electronic-commerce Web site, dropped 4.6 percent in Hong Kong after Chairman Jack Ma sold stock for $35 million.
Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.2 percent at 8:16 a.m. in London, retreating from an 11-month high. The regional gauge, which has surged 50 percent since March 9, is valued at 44.8 times profit, near the highest level since 2003, weekly Bloomberg data show.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.9 percent from a one- year high as Lenovo Group Ltd. shareholders including TPG Inc. reduced their holdings. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.3 percent, indicating the benchmark for U.S. stocks may snap three days of gains.
Vivendi slipped 1.9 percent to 19.64 euros even after the owner of the world’s largest music company said GVT’s largest shareholders had agreed to support the takeover. Vivendi will offer 42 Brazilian reais a share for GVT, valuing the company at 5.4 billion reais ($2.95 billion).
Lonmin, Alibaba
Lonmin Plc slipped 2 percent to 1,677 pence. Bank of America Corp. downgraded the shares to “neutral” from “buy” and said that a bid for the third-biggest platinum producer by Xstrata Plc is “not a sure thing.” Xstrata fell 1.4 percent to 868 pence.
Alibaba slumped 4.6 percent to HK$20.65 after Ma sold 13 million shares at an average price of HK$20.78 apiece. The stock had almost quadrupled this year before today, making it the fifth-best performing member in the MSCI Asia Pacific Information Technology Index.
Lenovo fell 5.2 percent to HK$3.47. TPG Inc., General Atlantic and Newbridge Asia raised HK$1.03 billion ($133 million) selling shares at HK$3.55 apiece.