European stock markets are trading in the red this Monday, with the exception of Frankfurt, as a reaction to the worsening of the energy crisis in Europe in a context of economic slowdown, high inflation and more restrictive monetary policies.
At 8:15 am in Lisbon, the Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 1% to 411.80 points, with London falling 0.67%, Paris growing 1.90% and Madrid falling 1.58%, with the exception of Frankfurt, which rose 3.30%.
On Friday, Wall Street ended its third consecutive week with losses, and the Dow Jones, the leading indicator, fell 1.07% to 31,318.44 points on fears that raising rates to combat inflation will cause a recession.
The S&P 500 index also closed with losses, falling 1.07% to 3,924.26 points, while the Nasdaq, which groups the main technology companies, lost 1.31% to 11,630.86 points.
European markets are now under pressure from the worsening energy crisis in Europe, which is justified by the endless stoppage in view of Russian gas deliveries to Germany and Europe, according to the financial agency Bloomberg.
The price of natural gas rose 31% in Europe and some countries are putting in place special measures to contain energy costs, it adds.
In this sense, Germany announced an extraordinary tax on the profits of companies in the energy sector to finance an anti-inflationary plan of 65,000 million euros.
In addition, OPEC+ member countries are meeting today (a holiday in the United States and markets are closed in New York), to decide production levels for the month of October, with Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia signaling that it may reduce your supply.
Investors remain vigilant for signals from central banks, including the European Central Bank (ECB), which this week is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate by at least 50 basis points to fight inflation, says Bloomberg, calling also the attention on the confinement in China due to the new outbreak of Covid-19 in the country.
In the UK, by contrast, members of the Conservative Party are likely to nominate Liz Truss as their leader today, paving the way for her to become the country’s prime minister, which is also drawing attention from investors, according to Bloomberg.
In the currency area, the euro depreciated 0.7% to USD 0.9884, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose 2% to USD 88.57 a barrel and gold traded at USD 1,712, 96 dollars.
Source: TSF
