After ignoring the trade tensions for as long as they could, a rocky Asian session has left the European indices feeling rather tender.
A likely feisty G7 meeting in Quebec appears to be the main thing driving the markets lower. Investors are either worried that nothing will get resolved, or Trump will become more entrenched in his aggressive approach to trade. Regardless, with little else to focus on the FTSE and co. seem intent on undoing a lot of the good work seen in the last week.
The FTSE, which had hung out at 7700 for so long, plunged 0.8% after the bell, a near 60 point loss that sent it to an 8 day low of 7650. Almost every one of its major players was in the red, with notable losses in the commodity sector especially.
The Eurozone was similarly anxious after the bell. The DAX, which has thrice-crossed 12900 this week, plunged 130 points, a drop that took it back below 12700, i.e. to the levels hit before the Italian political crisis found a solution last Friday. The CAC was less dramatic, falling 0.6%, with the Ibex and FTSE MIB down 0.7% and 0.6% respectively.
The forex markets weren’t quite as choppy on Friday. The pound managed to avoid adding to the losses suffered in the aftermath of the May/Davis Brexit backstop stand-off, holding flat just above $1.34 against the dollar while nudging 0.2% against the euro.
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