Stocks: Friday’s review

Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index retreating a second day from the highest since August 2011, after mixed reports on Chinese manufacturing. Japanese shares advanced on earnings and a weaker yen.

Nikkei 225 11,191.34 +52.68 +0.47%

Hang Seng 23,721.84 -7.69 -0.03%

S&P/ASX 200 4,921.1 +42.31 +0.87%

Shanghai Composite 2,419.02 +33.60 +1.41%

China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd., the biggest mainland developer listed in Hong Kong, slumped 2.3 percent after home prices in China posted their biggest gain in two years, sparking concern that the government will introduce additional property curbs.

NEC Corp. surged 8.5 percent after the maker of telecommunications equipment returned to profit in the third quarter from a loss a year earlier.

Toyota Motor Corp., which last year regained its position as the top-selling carmaker, rose 3 percent in Tokyo after the yen weakened.

European stocks posted their biggest weekly decline this year as a report showed the U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank in the fourth quarter and Spain’s markets regulator lifted a ban on shorting equities.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 fell 0.5 percent to 288.2 this week, its biggest drop since the end of 2012.

Spanish banks slumped, with Banco de Sabadell SA plunging 14 percent and Bankia tumbling 25 percent, as the country’s stock-market regulator, known as CNMV, said on Jan. 31 that it wouldn’t extend a ban on shorting stocks.

Santander lost 7.7 percent after the country’s largest lender set aside money for further loan losses in its home market. The bank reported fourth-quarter profit of 401 million euros ($549 million), missing the average analyst estimate of 801.6 million euros.

National benchmark indexes retreated in 12 of western Europe’s 18 markets this week.

FTSE 100 6,347.24 +70.36 +1.12% CAC 40 3,773.53 +40.93 +1.10% DAX 7,833.39 +57.34 +0.74%

Saipem (SPM) plunged 36 percent. Europe’s largest oil-services company by sales lowered its forecast for earnings before interest and taxes in 2012 to about 1.5 billion euros. Ebit will fall to about 750 million euros in 2013, the company said. It predicted that earnings from onshore projects would slump by about 80 percent this year.

Imagination Technologies rallied 18 percent. Morgan Stanley upgraded the British maker of chip technology for phones and tablet computers to overweight, the equivalent of buy, from equal weight.

Swedbank AB (SWEDA) jumped 12 percent as the second-best capitalized major lender in the European Union proposed a dividend of 9.90 kronor a share, compared with 5.30 kronor a year earlier. The lender posted net income of 4.34 billion kronor ($690 million) in the fourth quarter, beating the 3.54 billion-krona average analyst estimate.

Major U.S. stock indexes rose significantly today, completing trades near maximum. For the week DOW index rose 0,8%, Nasdaq rose 0,91%, S & P500 gained 0.56%.

Major U.S. stock indexes the second month of 2013 begins to increase. The closing of the major indexes rise more than 1%, this index showed a maximum DOW above $ 14,000 for the first time since October 2007.

Growth is the reason for today's published data on the U.S. labor market, the index of business activity in industry and consumer sentiment, as well as construction costs.

On the labor market data we have mentioned now and again. Again, they got it for what the market needed: not too optimistic that the continued prevalence of chances to continue stimulating the U.S. economy by the Federal Reserve, and not too weak, confirming the current trend of moderate recovery.

Other reports showed improvement in consumer sentiment from Reuters / Michigan, the manufacturing index of the Institute for Supply Management, as well as a stronger than expected increase in construction cost.

Against the publication of important macroeconomic data published quarterly reports a significant impact on the dynamics of today's trades do not have.

Among the components of the index DOW only shares Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK, -3.33%), Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ, -0,30%) suffer losses. At the moment, the leader shares in Bank of America Corporation (BAC, +3.27%).

All sectors of the S & P is in the green zone. The leader is the sector conglomerates (1.2%).

At the close:

Dow +149.21 14,009.79 +1.08%

Nasdaq +36.97 3,179.10 +1.18%