LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Drops To 3-month Low As Trump 'ups The Ante' In North Korea Standoff
11 August 2017 - 7:19PM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Old Mutual shares fall after earnings
U.K. stocks finished sharply lower on Friday, as escalating
tensions between the U.S. and North Korea helped drive a global
selloff and left British blue-chips with their worst weekly
performance in nearly four months.
The FTSE 100 index slumped 1.1% to 7,309.96, the lowest close
since May 8, FactSet data showed. For the week, the London index
fell 2.7%, the biggest loss since the week ended April 21.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said his earlier threat
to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea "maybe wasn't tough
enough."
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-today-president-tweets-get-back-to-work-at-senate-majority-leader-mcconnell-2017-08-10)
Then on Friday, the president said military solutions are "locked
and loaded"
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-says-north-korea-military-solutions-locked-and-loaded-what-it-will-take-to-avoid-a-war-2017-08-11)
in case North Korea acts "unwisely."
Additionally, China weighed in on the standoff, saying in an
editorial in state-run Global Times
(http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1060791.shtml) that Beijing will
intervene if the U.S. strikes first against North Korea.
"Trump has upped the ante so the market is having to price in
possible military intervention," said Jasper Lawler, head of
research, at London Capital Group, in a note.
Read:What to do with stocks if the U.S. and North Korea go to
war
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-do-with-stocks-if-the-us-and-north-korea-go-to-war-2017-08-10)
Howard Gold:A new missile crisis is here, and Trump is no JFK
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-new-missile-crisis-is-here-and-trump-is-no-jfk-2017-08-10)
"Love or loathe him, Trump isn't one to back down from a
confrontation, so it's perhaps not a surprise that things have
escalated. North Korea responding with a threat to U.S. territory
after Trump warned them not to threaten the U.S. was never going to
go down well," Lawler said.
"We assume markets will move on if it remains purely a war of
words but the selloff looks durable," he added.
European stocks also fell sharply Friday, leaving the Stoxx
Europe 600 with its worst weekly decline since November, just
before the U.S. presidential election was held.
Stock movers: Shares of Old Mutual PLC (OML.LN) fell 3.1% even
after the company raised its dividend 32%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/old-mutual-lifts-dividend-32-after-earnings-rise-2017-08-11).
The financial services company reported an 87% jump in net profit
in the first half of the year.
Mining shares were among biggest the decliners as investors
shunned assets seen as more risky. A slowdown in Chinese fiscal
spending
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-fiscal-spending-growth-slows-2017-08-11)
also hit commodities stocks, as the sector is highly exposed to
growth and spending on infrastructure projects in China.
Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO)(RIO) dropped 3.2%, Glencore PLC
(GLEN.LN) lost 2.9%, Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) fell 3.1%, and BHP
Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) gave up 2%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 11, 2017 13:04 ET (17:04 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
FTSE 100
Index Chart
Von Mär 2024 bis Apr 2024
FTSE 100
Index Chart
Von Apr 2023 bis Apr 2024