European stocks fell a second day after U.S.-based Washington Mutual Inc. said it may have to set aside more money to cover bad loans and the International Monetary Fund said it will cut its global growth forecast.
DaimlerChrysler AG, the world’s second-largest maker of luxury cars, and Vinci SA, the biggest construction company, led the decline.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 lost 0.9 percent. All 18 industry groups retreated except for utilities. The Stoxx 50 decreased 0.8 percent, while the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for nations sharing the euro, slid 0.6 percent.
“Our biggest risk factor has always been if the broader economy gets harmed by what is going on” in financial markets, said Daniel Broby, who helps manage $4 billion as chief investment officer at Renaissance Investment Management in London. “That scenario is looking more realistic. Now is the time to be just a little more cautious.”
U.S. JOB LOSSES SINK ASIA: Asian stocks fell the most in more than three weeks after the U.S. unexpectedly shed jobs for the first time in four years and Japan’s economy shrank.
Toyota Motor Corp. led exporters lower, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. paced declines by Japanese companies reliant on domestic demand. Samsung Electronics Co. slid on concern that spending will slow in the world’s two biggest economies. BHP Billiton Ltd., the largest mining company, declined after metals prices dropped.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific index fell 1.8 percent, its biggest loss since Aug. 17. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.2 percent. Posco, the world’s No. 1 stainless-steel producer, led South Korea’s Kospi index 2.6 percent lower.
