Though the Dow Jones avoided any serious losses after the bell, the US open saw the European indices dramatically reverse their early gains.
A solid Markit manufacturing PMI, and a better than expected ISM reading, meant little to the Dow this Thursday, with the index falling 50 points as the day went on. And though this decline is arguably to do with a fairly hawkish hold from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday evening, the dollar didn’t really take anything from the statement, falling 0.3% against both the pound and the euro.
The FTSE, meanwhile, hit a fresh 2018 low after shedding its initial growth, with the index now straining to keep above 7510. A further 12% fall from Capita (LON:CPI) likely didn’t help sentiment, while Royal Dutch Shell's (LON:RDSb) admittance that it faces a multi-billion dollar bill to householders affected by earthquakes arising from one of the company’s gasfields in the Netherlands has directly weighed on the FTSE, with the oil giant down 1.6%.
The worst losses were reversed for the DAX, however. The German index plunged more than 150 points this Thursday, having at one point been up 0.5%, as Daimler AG (DE:DAIGn) claimed that it would struggle to post substantial growth in 2018 profits, undermining a strong set of annual figures to send the carmaker 2.5% lower.
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