Emerging-market stocks fell the most in six days and currencies weakened on concern China’s measures to curb real-estate speculation and spending cuts by indebted European governments will slow economic growth. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index lost 2 percent to 940.23 as of 11:05 a.m. in London, heading for its biggest retreat since May 7. The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 5.1 percent, the most since August 2009. The Russian ruble weakened 1.4 percent against the dollar, the biggest decline since May 6, and the South Korean won dropped 2 percent. China’s Shanghai index sank to the lowest level in a year after Premier Wen Jiabao warned the government will “decisively” contain gains in home prices and the Ministry of Commerce said the euro’s decline is pressuring exporters. All 10 industry groups in the MSCI index fell before a meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels today. Governments are under pressure to show they can reduce deficits fast enough to satisfy bondholders after agreeing to a $1 trillion financial lifeline for the region last week. “The concern now is moving from how much it’s going to cost to the effect on growth,” Markus Rosgen, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) chief Asian strategist in Hong Kong, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “In Asia, there are clearly some headwinds.” –Bloomberg
Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) said Monday it’s lifting its 2010 adjusted sales target to $2.75 billion. The company now expects net subscriber additions for the full year to be approximately 750,000 and free cash flow for 2010 to exceed $100 million. SIRI shares jumped some 5.6% in premarket trading. In other news, Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) said Monday that it will buy Psychiatric Solutions (NASDAQ:PSYS) for about $2 billion in cash in a deal worth approximately $3.1 billion. UHS will pay $33.75 per share, which is a 3.4% premium over PSYS’s Friday closing price. –Daily Finance
Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) said Monday its fiscal first-quarter profit rose to $489 million, or 34 cents a share, from $476 million, or 32 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of 31 cents a share, on average. Sales climbed 4.7% to $12.4 billion, while sales at stores open at least one year rose 2.4%. For the second quarter, the Mooresville, N.C., hardware chain predicted earnings in the range of 57 cents to 59 cents a share. Wall Street is looking for earnings of 61 cents a share. For the full year, Lowe’s expects earnings in the range of $1.37 to $1.47 a share. –MarketWatch
China bought U.S. Treasurys for the first time in six months in March, boosting its position as the top foreign holder, the Treasury Department said. Overall, foreigners were heavy net buyers of long-term U.S. financial assets in March, a time when investor concerns about Greece’s ability to finance its debts pushed investors into Treasury. China resumed buying Treasurys for the first time since last September, with its holdings increasing $17.7 billion to $895.2 billion, following net sales of $11.5 billion in February, according to the monthly Treasury International Capital report, known as TIC. –The Wall Street Journal
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