The FTSE 100 is down 30 points in early trading as the North Korean nuclear crisis continues to be at the forefront of investors minds, with yesterday’s US markets plunging and a jittery Asian session overnight leading the European indices into the red.
Spreadex Analyst, Connor Campbell noted “The FTSE was up there with the worst performers, falling half a percent largely thanks to the weight of its commodity stocks. There was also drag from the housing sector, with Barratt Developments dropping 4% despite posting record annual profit”
“Over in the Eurozone trading was similarly sour, with the DAX and CAC slipping 0.3% and 0.4% respectively. The former was also dealing with some German-specific bad news, as the country’s factory orders plunged from 0.9% to -0.7% month-on-month. ”
Risk aversion seems to be the theme of the week for currency traders with safe havens finding support amid geopolitical concerns and the threat posed to the US mainland by Hurrican Irma.
ADS Securities analyst, Konstantinos Anthis commented “The dollar remains weak following the escalation of the situation in the Pacific which is dampening demand for higher premiums so the yen and gold continue to benefit. The outlook for the dollar is also threatened by another storm making its way towards the southern states.”
The US equity markets closed sharply lower yesterday in a delayed reaction to North Korea’s weekend nuclear test.
Accendo Markets Analyst, Mike van Dulken noted “Reopening after the Labor Day extended weekend, the Dow Jones closed over 1% lower – its biggest drop since mid-August – as Financial and Manufacturing names weighed, while the Tech-focused Nasdaq closed just shy of 1% weaker and the S&P 500 snapped a 6-day win streak, closing 0.7% offside, as Insurers weighed after tropical storm Harvey.”
