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European Market Updates

UK Market Drops

By RTTNews Staff Writer   ✉  | Published:  | Google News Follow Us  | Join Us
rttnewslogo20mar2024

The UK market fell on Monday, as the debt deal necessary to avoid a default for Greece remained elusive. The Asian markets ended mostly higher, while the U.S. index futures are lower.

The International Monetary Fund said the Chinese economy would experience nearly 4 percentage points reduction in its growth rate projected for this year if the debt crisis in Europe intensifies.

In a report published in Beijing, the Washington-based lender warned that the risks to China from Europe are both "large and tangible." The Chinese growth rate is forecast to drop abruptly if the Euro area experiences a sharp recession.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is declining 0.79 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is dropping 0.36 percent.

The FTSE 100 index has been in negative territory and is currently declining 0.31 percent.

Glencore is declining 3.9 percent after the Financial Times reported that it may pay a larger-than-expected premium of 8 percent to Xstrata's shareholders to seal a merger with the mining giant. Meanwhile, another report said the European Competition Commissioner is looking into the deal. Xstrata is falling 1.9 percent.

Randgold Resources is gaining 3.2 percent after reporting stellar results for the fourth quarter and year. The company also doubled its dividend.

Cairn Energy is advancing 3.3 percent. Essar Energy is falling 3.2 percent.

Vodafone is up 0.2 percent. The telecom giant terminated discussions with Largo Ltd., the sole shareholder of telecom operator Wind Hellas, related to a potential business combination between Vodafone Greece and Wind Hellas.

Barclays is losing 1.6 percent, while Lloyds Banking is gaining 1.6 percent.

Low-cost airline easyJet is falling 1.2 percent after reporting a dip in passenger numbers for January.

Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is declining 0.50 percent and the French CAC 40 is dropping 1.02 percent. Switzerland's SMI is falling 0.43 percent.

In economic news, Eurozone investor confidence improved for the second consecutive month in February, a survey by the think tank Sentix showed. The confidence index rose sharply to -11.1 from -21.1 in January. Economists were expecting the indicator to climb to -16.5.

Across Asia/Pacific, most major markets ended in positive territory. Australia's All Ordinaries advanced about 1 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.03 percent. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.23 percent.

In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the Dow jumped 1.2 percent, the Nasdaq soared 1.6 percent and the S&P 500 surged up 1.5 percent.

In the commodity space, crude for March delivery is sliding $1.07 to $96.77 per barrel and April gold is losing $22.2 to $1718.1 a troy ounce.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis

Global Economics Weekly Update - Jun 01 - Jun 05, 2026

June 05, 2026 16:18 ET
A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.

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