Traders at the London Stock Exchange. The benchmark FTSE 100 index slumped 1.15% to 6,269.61 yesterday.
AFP
London
European stocks, after briefly paring their losses in afternoon trading, ended down considerably yesterday.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 fell 1.17% to close at 9,915.85 points, while the Paris CAC 40 shed 0.74% to 4,609.03.
Despite news that Britain’s jobless total has struck a seven-year low, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index slumped 1.15% to 6,269.61.
In foreign exchange trading, the euro climbed to $1.1440 from $1.1381 late on Tuesday on the US data.
“The US dollar has been the worst performer, not surprising given that this afternoon’s weak US data raises expectations that the Fed may well remain on hold for longer,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
Resurgent worries over China’s slowdown sent stocks lower yesterday, while disappointing US data rekindling hopes for a delay in an interest
rate hike failed to revive the markets.
Early European trading was dominated by the Chinese data, but share indices briefly recovered in the wake of disappointing US data being seen as a sign the US Federal Reserve may hold off raising interest rates further.
The Commerce Department said US retail sales edged up in September by just 0.1% from the previous month, and August was revised down to flat, as low gasoline prices pull down the value of sales.
Retail sales are a sign of the strength of consumer spending, which drives about two thirds of the US economy’s activity.
Meanwhile sinking energy costs pushed US producer prices 0.5% lower in September in another sign of deflationary pressures in the economy, Labor Department data showed.
Markets have been tracking economic data closely for signs when the US Federal Reserve may finally start raising interest rates given concerns about persistent low inflation and recent global volatility slowing economic growth.
“The softness of September’s retail sales figures supports our view that the Fed probably isn’t going to hike interest rates until early next year,” said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.
That helped Wall Street push higher briefly, but disappointing earnings from banking giant JPMorgan Chase and a cut by retailing giant Wal-Mart to its profit outlook dampened sentiment.
In midday trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.53% to 16,992.19 points.
Meanwhile, the broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.39% to 1,995.84 points and tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 0.30% to 4,782.04.
Dow member JPMorgan Chase fell 2.8% as its third-quarter earnings came in at $1.32 per share, five cents below analyst expectations.
Wal-Mart Stores cut its profit outlook due to increased spending on employee wages and e-commerce investment, sending shares in the world’s largest retailer plunging by 8.7%.
