Stocks: Monday’s review

Asian stocks dropped, with the regional benchmark index heading for its second day of decline, after China tightened mortgage rules to cool the property market. Japanese shares pared gains.

Nikkei 225 11,652.29 +45.91 +0.40%

Hang Seng 22,537.81 -342.41 -1.50%

S&P/ASX 200 5,010.52 -75.61 -1.49%           

Shanghai Composite 2,273.4 -86.10 -3.65%

China Resources Land Ltd., a state-owned developer, slumped 9.3 percent in Hong Kong, pacing declines among Chinese real- estate companies.

Noble Group Ltd., Asia’s biggest commodity trader by sales, dropped 2.6 percent in Singapore after Citigroup Inc. downgraded its rating.

Mitsubishi Estate Co., Japan’s No. 1 developer by market value, rose 3.6 percent after Bank of Japan nominee Haruhiko Kuroda said he will do whatever it takes to end deflation.

European stocks were little changed as utility shares rallied, offsetting HSBC Holdings Plc’s biggest retreat since July and a survey that showed China’s services industries slowed last month.

China’s government intensified its three-year campaign to cool the real estate market, ordering larger deposits and stricter enforcement of sales taxes. The People’s Bank of China’s regional branches may implement the measures in conjunction with the price-control targets of local governments, the country’s cabinet said in a statement.

In Rome, a senior aide to Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani said the country will need to hold another election if the center left fails to build a coalition commanding a majority of seats in the Senate.

The finance ministers of the 17-member euro area meet in Brussels today to discuss the planned bailout for Cyprus.

National benchmark indexes dropped in 12 of the 18 western- European markets. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.5 percent, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.3 percent and Germany’s DAX retreated 0.2 percent. Greece’s ASE Index lost 2.1 percent after Russell Investments reclassified the country as an emerging market.

HSBC dropped 2.5 percent to 710 pence after saying pretax earnings fell 5.6 percent in 2012 because of a record settlement for anti-money-laundering sanctions in the U.S. and a charge to revalue its own debt. Profit of $20.65 billion trailed the $23.49 billion estimate of 26 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The lender took a $5.2 billion charge for revaluing its debt.

Anglo American Plc retreated 2.7 percent to 1,849 pence after Nomura Holdings Inc. downgraded the stock to reduce, a rating similar to sell, from neutral. The brokerage said that analysts need to lower their estimates for the company’s earnings this year.

Debenhams slumped 15 percent to 80.7 pence, for the biggest tumble on the Stoxx 600. The second-largest U.K. department store forecast that pretax profit for the first half of the year will decline to 120 million pounds ($181 million) after snow disrupted sales. Comparable revenue dropped 10 percent from Jan. 14 to Jan. 27, the retailer said.

U.S. stocks rose, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its highest close since 2007, as speculation the Federal Reserve will continue stimulus measures overshadowed concern over spending cuts and China’s economy.

Stocks rose as Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen said the U.S. central bank should press on with $85 billion in monthly bond buying while tracking possible costs and risks from the unprecedented program.

Equities fell early in the trading day as China’s services industries expanded last month at the slowest pace since September. The non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 54.5 in February from 56.2 in January, the Beijing-based National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Automatic cuts in U.S. federal spending, half of which are in defense programs, went into effect March 1 following a congressional impasse. The government will reduce spending by $1.2 trillion over the next nine years, including $85 billion in this fiscal year. The budget cuts will cause a 0.6 percentage- point reduction in economic growth this year, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated.

Even as President Barack Obama phoned Democratic and Republican legislators over the weekend, Obama’s aides and congressional leaders signaled the budget reductions would continue for weeks, possibly months.

Both sides indicated that revisiting the reductions would begin after they resolve a confrontation over legislation that’s needed to keep federal agencies running beyond March 27, placing a premium on avoiding a government shutdown.

DOW index components finished trading mostly higher (19 of 30). More than others in the share price fell Caterpillar Inc. (CAT, -1.76%).. Leader shares were Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT, +2.12%).

On result of yesterdays session:

S&P 500 1,522.51 +4.31 +0.28%

NASDAQ 3,179.91 +10.17 +0.32%