US housing blues

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks fell to the lowest in two weeks after commodity prices dropped and on concern a US housing slump will curb growth in the region's biggest export market.

Toyota Motor Corp, Japan's largest automaker, declined the most in almost three weeks. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, slid for a third day, its longest losing streak since January.

Shanghai Automotive Co paced China's CSI 300 Index to a second day of gains after a government report showed profits by industrial companies jumped.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped for a fourth day, falling 1.2 per cent to 17,849.28, its longest string of declines in three months. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 2 per cent, the most since March 14. Benchmarks fell elsewhere in the region, except in Thailand and Pakistan.

Europe

European stocks fell for a fifth day after UK mortgage lender Northern Rock Plc said higher interest rates are cutting into profit and a European Central Bank member signaled further increases in borrowing costs.

Northern Rock tumbled the most since at least 1997 after saying earnings will miss analysts' estimates. Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank, and Axa SA, Europe's second-largest insurer, also paced the decline. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, followed metal prices lower.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.4 per cent to 387.95 at 12:10 p.m. in London and has erased more than a third of this quarter's gain in the past month. The Stoxx 50 also fell 0.4 per cent, as did the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region.

National benchmarks fell today in all of the 18 western European markets except for Iceland. The UK's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 both dropped 0.3 per cent. Germany's DAX decreased 0.6 per cent.

US

US stock-index futures rose on speculation earnings will keep growing after Oracle Corp forecast higher sales than analysts estimated and Nike Inc said orders increased the most in a decade.

Oracle gained in Europe. The world's third-largest software maker said sales may rise as much as 21 per cent in the fiscal first quarter. Nike, the world's biggest athletic-shoe maker, also advanced. ConocoPhillips slid after the No. 3 US oil company said it will record a charge of $4.5 billion.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in September increased 3.20 to 1501 as of 12:09 p.m. in London. The gauge has lost 2.5 per cent this month, weighed down by concern the Fed may raise interest rates to slow the pace of inflation.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 11 to 13,407 today. Nasdaq-100 Index futures rose 3.25 to 1928.75.