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Sovereign debt concerns came back to rattle US markets Wednesday, however this time it was Portugal, not Greece, which worried investors. The country had their credit rating downgraded to AA minus by ratings agency Fitch, citing the country’s debt load.

In the US, new home sales fell 2.2% to an annualised rate of 308,000 units, disappointing analysts who were expecting a jump to 315,000 units.

The Dow Jones fell 52.68 points, or 0.48%, to 10,836.15, the S&P 500 lost 6.45 points, or 0.55%, to 1,167.72 and the NASDAQ sank 16.48 points, or 0.68%, to 2,398.76.

Among the banks, Bank of America added 2.6% after saying it would restructure some subprime mortgages to make repayments more affordable.

Citigroup added 0.5%, though other banks weren’t so strong with Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs down 0.7% and 02% respectively.

Among the tech stocks, Apple rose 0.4%, while Microsoft dipped 0.4%. Google rallied 1.5% - the same amount it lost yesterday.

Despite the downturn in housing figures, home builders were generally higher. Toll Brothers and Pulte Home added 0.8% and 1.7% respectively.

Health stocks Procter & Gamble and Merck both lost 1.3%.

Coffee house giant Starbucks slipped 0.5% despite the company announcing its first dividend ever, and a share buyback plan.

Cereal maker General Mills lost 1.9% despite a slew of positive earnings figures and outlook estimates.

Crude oil for May delivery slipped US$1.30 to settle at US$80.61 a barrel. The government's weekly oil inventory report showed a larger than expected build in supplies.

Exxon Mobil lost 0.7%, while Chevron slumped 1.1%.

COMEX gold for April delivery fell $14.90 an ounce to $1,088.80.

European Markets

European stocks were mixed and generally flat Wednesday as stocks maintained 17-month highs. A downgrade in Portugal’s credit rating countered gains from the manufacturers and services industry.

The UK benchmark FTSE100 added 4.25, or 0.07% to 5,677.88. The French CAC40 lost 2.74, or 0.07% to 3,949.81, while the German DAX advanced 21.73, or 0.36% to 6,039.00.

Among the UK banks, Barlcays added 0.3%, while RBS advanced 1%

HSBC lost 0.2%.

In Germany Deutsche Bank climbed 1.6% and Commerzbank rallied 2.8%.

The health stocks in Europe generally rose, with GlaxoSmithKline up 0.7%, Shire adding 2.1% and Novartis rose 0.8%.

Car maker Fiat climbed 3.9% on reports of larger than expected job cuts, while French car maker Peugeot added 1.1%.

UK homebuilder Bellway surged 5.6% after posting a small profit for the half year, indicating a stabilisation of the housing market.

Among the miners, Aussie giant BHP Billiton retreated 0.1% and peer Rio Tinto climbed 1.4%.

Anglo American was 0.9% stronger despite most base metal prices falling more than 1% on the London Metals Exchange.

Japanese Markets

Japan’s Nikkei advanced following a government report that revealed the nation’s exports increased at the quickest pace in 30 years during February. A strengthening yen and concerns regarding European debt issues limited gains.

The Nikkei 225 added 40.88, or 0.38% to 10,815.03.

Sharp, Kyocera Corp and Canon put on 3.2%, 2.7% and 1.7% respectively on the back of the export data.

Nintendo rallied 8.7% as it plans to launch a new model of its DS handheld game gear.

Automaker Toyota rose 1.5%, while Mazda shed 1.6%.

Bearing maker NSK climbed 4.8% after lifting its profit forecast citing an increase in sales.

On the downside, banks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial slid 0.4% and 1%.

Asahi Breweries lost 2.5% on a broker downgrade.

Hong Kong Markets

The Hang Seng made ground for a second straight session Wednesday.

The Hang Seng climbed 20.84, or 0.10% to 21,008.62.

Bank of China lost 0.5% on the Hang Seng, however its local subsidiary rallied 2.6% after profit increased four-fold. ICBC added 0.4%.

HSBC retreated 0.3%.

China Cosco spiked 3.6% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the shipping stock to a ‘buy’.

Among the telco’s China Unicom lost 1.5%. China Mobile dipped just 0.1%.

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Market Watch by egoli