New York (AFP) – World stock markets fell on Thursday as traders digested Federal Reserve signals that a possible US interest rate hike could be in the cards in June.
Trading saw “Fed-centric uncertainty” return to the fore, Sheraz Mian of Zacks Investment Research said a day after the release of US Federal Reserve meeting minutes that showed the Fed prepared to increase interest rates next month.
Investors fixated on hawkish Fed statements, including remarks Thursday from New York Federal Reserve Bank President Bob Dudley that a June or July rate hike was “reasonable” if economic data stays solid.
“We just have a constant drumbeat from Fed officials that the market isn’t taking the threat of a rate hike seriously,” said Alan Skrainka chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management.
Sentiment was further unsettled following the unexplained crash of an EgyptAir plane in the Mediterranean with 66 people aboard.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 1.8-percent lower, while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index slumped 1.5 percent and the Paris CAC 40 lost 0.9 percent.
On Wall Street, the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.4 percent to 2,040.04, dipping back into negative territory for the year.
In foreign exchange, the euro fell further against the dollar. But the dollar retreated a bit against the yen following Wednesday’s surge.
The British pound reached a three-month high against the euro on Thursday thanks to polls showing the Remain camp in the lead ahead of the June 23 referendum on Britain’s EU membership.
Sterling struck 76.49 pence against the euro at one point, its highest level since early February, with support also from better-than-expected British retail sales data, analysts said.
– Travel shares drop –
Travel-oriented shares including airlines were in gloomy retreat on news of the EgyptAir crash and speculation over its cause.
Egypt’s aviation minister said that while it was too soon to say why the Airbus A320 had vanished, “a terrorist” attack would be a more likely scenario than a technical failure.
US travel groups Expedia and Priceline, along with carriers Delta Air Lines, United Continental and American Airlines each lost between one and three percent.
Air France-KLM and Lufthansa shed 1.1 and 1.2 percent, respectively. Hotel chain Marriott International lost 1.1 percent, while French hotel group Accor dropped 1.6 percent.
Shares in British travel operator Thomas Cook closed just over 19 percent lower after it revealed a drop in summer bookings, in particular to key market Turkey, following recent deadly attacks.
Agricultural giant Monsanto climbed 3.5 percent after acknowledging it received an unsolicited bid from Bayer to create a global player in pesticides, seeds and genetically modified crops. Both Monsanto and Bayer emphasized that the talks were still only exploratory at this stage. Bayer tumbled 8.2 percent.
FMC Technologies dropped 4.7 percent following its announcement that it agreed to merge with French oil services company Technip to form a company with annual sales around $20 billion. Technip gained 6.1 percent.
Giant US retailer Wal-Mart Stores jumped 9.6 percent after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, boosting several other retailers in the beaten-down sector.
– Key figures around 2100 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 17,435.40 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.5 percent at 2,040.04 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.6 percent at 4,712.53 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.8 percent at 6,053.35 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 1.5 percent at 9,795.89 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 4,282.54 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.3 percent at 2,919.22 (close)
Tokyo: Nikkei 225: UP less than 0.1 percent at 16,646.66 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 2,806.91 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.7 percent at 19,694.33 (close)
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.96 yen from 110.20 yen
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1203 from $1.1218 on Wednesday
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