European stock markets are in retreat today, suffering from the impact of geopolitical risk in the Middle East. This situation is impacting on economic indicators and corporate performance, while luxury goods are managing to keep their heads above water.
Domino effect. Europe’s main stock markets fell back on Wednesday, as geopolitical risks in the Middle East took precedence over economic indicators and corporate performance.
In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 1% to 6,960.41 points at around 4:30 pm. In London, the FTSE 100 was down 1.06%, while in Frankfurt, the Dax was down 1.01%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index is down 1.15%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.98%, and the Stoxx 600 1.01%.
Wall Street futures also suggest a decline, with a 0.41% drop forecast for the Dow Jones, 0.56% for the Standard & Poor’s 500, following a relatively stable session the previous day. A notable exception was the Nasdaq, which gained 5.53%.
Wall Street was disrupted by a fall in the semiconductor sector, following Washington’s announcement that it plans to halt exports of artificial intelligence processors to China.
Middle East on fire
In the Middle East, geopolitical tensions intensified following a strike on a hospital in Gaza, causing hundreds of casualties according to Palestinian reports. Israel claimed it was not responsible for the strike, while US President Joe Biden is visiting the country on Wednesday.
These worrying developments, illustrated by the recent rise in oil prices, take precedence over news from China. In the latter, third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth, at an annualized 4.9%, beat forecasts. China’s strong retail sales figures, up 5.5% in September, are also taking a back seat.
However, the focus is likely to shift back to the economy with the publication of monthly consumer prices in the Eurozone scheduled for 09:00 GMT, especially in the run-up to next week’s meetings of the main central banks. In Great Britain, inflation remained stable at 6.7% year-on-year in September.
Luxury comes through, tech’ hit
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