Stocks Slip on Most Foreign Markets

Stocks ended mostly lower overseas Monday as war fears and downbeat corporate outlooks for companies such as Royal Dutch/Shell fueled investor concerns about the global economy.

In currency trading, the euro continued to gain at the dollar’s expense. The European currency reached a three-year high.

Wall Street, which will reopen today after being closed Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, set a poor tone for the rest of the world on Friday, with a sharp sell-off that drove the Dow Jones industrial average down 111.47 points, or 1.3%, to 8,586.40 and the Nasdaq composite down 47.56 points, or 3.3%, to 1,376.19.

The U.S. market slide had been triggered by weaker-than-expected earnings outlooks from companies including IBM and Microsoft.

In Europe on Monday, stocks fell after J.P. Morgan lowered its earnings estimate for oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell.

A weak outlook from Infineon, Europe’s second-biggest computer chip maker, also pressured shares.

The British market’s FTSE-100 index dropped 1.1% to 3,778.60, leaving it down 4.1% so far this year.

The main German index lost 0.9% to 2,893.55 on Monday and the French market fell 1.2% to 3,020.07.

Major European markets now are mostly in the red this year. The main U.S. indexes, by contrast, are clinging to modest gains. The Dow is up 2.9% and Nasdaq is up 3.1%.

Analysts said fear of war between the United States and Iraq is making many foreign investors unwilling to commit to stocks.

Many also are shying away from dollar-denominated assets. That is helping to drive the euro currency’s value higher.

On Monday, the euro reached $1.068 in European trading, up from $1.067 in New York on Friday and a three-year high.

The euro’s climb has added to worries about the euro zone’s anemic economic growth because its strength makes the bloc’s exports less competitive.

Oil prices ticked higher Monday after the United States said time was running out for Baghdad to prove its compliance with United Nations disarmament resolutions. London Brent blend crude settled 11 cents higher at $30.65 a barrel.

In Asian trading, Japan’s 225-issue Nikkei stock average fell 131.43 points, or 1.5%, to 8,558.82.

Analysts said Asian traders took their cue from Wall Street’s pessimism, driving down technology heavyweights such as Hitachi, NEC and Fujitsu.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 62.57 points, or 0.7%, to 9,552.02.

In Canada, the Standard & Poor’s/TSX index eased 15.55 points, or 0.2%, to 6,740.37.

Mexico’s main share index was off 43.34 points, or 0.7%, to 6,161.12. It is up 0.6% year to date.