Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. US stocks fell in midday trade yesterday after a key consumer sentiment index sank and the Fed’s review of bank capital plans raised questions about lending giants JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.


AFP/London

Europe’s main stock markets fell yesterday in downbeat pre-weekend trading before the outcome of a major eurozone ministers meeting aiming to agree a bailout for the Cyprus government, dealers said.
Sentiment was also dented ahead of triple witching day, when stock index futures, index options and stock options all expire together.
At close, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading companies slid 0.61% to 6,489.65 points.
In Frankfurt, the Dax 30 dropped 0.19% to 8,042.85 points, while in Paris the Cac 40 fell 0.71% to 3,844.03 points.
In foreign exchange activity, the euro firmed to $1.3064 from $1.3003 late Thursday in New York. Gold prices increased to $1,595.50 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $1,586.
Eurozone veteran Jean-Claude Juncker said the Eurogroup finance ministers under way in Brussels must agree on a bailout for the near-bankrupt Cyprus government.
“The Cyprus question should not just be brought closer to a solution - it should be solved,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Juncker told reporters at the close of a gathering of eurozone leaders in the middle of a two-day European Union summit.
Asked if he foresaw a deal at the finance talks, the recently-departed Eurogroup chairman said: “I can’t imagine that we would let the weekend pass without having solved the Cyprus problem.”
European stocks had closed higher on Thursday on news that Ireland could become the first eurozone nation to emerge from its bailout programme, and following a decline of US jobless claims for a third straight week.
Gekko Markets analyst Anita Paluch said: “European stocks are struggling for direction as caution prevails ahead of the triple witching, when options and futures contracts will expire.”
US stocks also fell in midday trade yesterday after a key consumer sentiment index sank and the Fed’s review of bank capital plans raised questions about lending giants JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.
At around 1700 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.27%, the broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.11%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.16%.
The University of Michigan Consumer index took a surprising dive to 71.8, its lowest level since the end of 2011 and down from 77.6 in February. Analysts had expected a gain.
JPMorgan shares sank after the Federal Reserve on Thursday raised questions about its capital plans, ordering adjustments to “address weaknesses”.
JPMorgan was also hit by the release of a damning US Senate report on the London Whale trades.