European stocks down as worst week in a year looms

Record ID: 1435207

  • Title: European stocks down as worst week in a year looms
  • Date: 4th October 2019
  • Summary: FRANKFURT, GERMANY (OCTOBER 4, 2019) (REUTERS) TRADING FLOOR VARIOUS OF TRADERS BROKEN DISPLAY BOARD VARIOUS OF TRADERS VARIOUS OF BANK SHARES ON DISPLAY BOARD (SOUNDBITE) (German) TRADER WITH ICF BANK, ARTHUR BRUNNER, SAYING: "This week there has only been bad news. There is the fear that these tariffs will have a direct impact on the economy - the latest figures showed this. And so optimism has disappeared from the markets." VARIOUS OF DISPLAY BOARD SHOWING DAX LOSS (SOUNDBITE) (German) TRADER WITH ICF BANK, ARTHUR BRUNNER, SAYING: "Washington is trying to drive a wedge into Europe. France will be seriously affected with (tariffs on) wine, while other countries are not so badly affected. They are trying to use punitive tariffs to further political goals." DISPLAY BOARD (SOUNDBITE) (German) TRADER WITH ICF BANK, ARTHUR BRUNNER, SAYING: "At the moment it is very difficult to predict how the situation will develop. There are fears here of a further escalation." VARIOUS OF TRADERS VARIOUS OF CAR SHARES ON BOARD (SOUNDBITE) (German) TRADER WITH ICF BANK, ARTHUR BRUNNER, SAYING ON BREXIT: "The EU has set out a very clear position and I don't think they will deviate from it very much. They will certainly accommodate Boris Johnson on nuances, but they can't refuse to make any concessions to Theresa May and then make them for Boris Johnson. I don't believe they would do that." TRADER BLANK DISPLAY BOARD TRADERS TRADING FLOOR
  • Embargoed: 18th October 2019 10:35
  • Keywords: stocks shares DAX tariffs stock exchange markets European products World Trade Organization
  • Location: FRANKFURT, GERMANY
  • City: FRANKFURT, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AZOLN65
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: European stocks were down on Friday (October 4) as markets threatened to log their worst weekly performance in a year.
    Earlier the pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.3% propped up by hopes of easing measures from the U.S. Federal Reserve, but by 09:41 GMT it was down 0.2 percent.
    In a turbulent week for markets roiled by weak readings on factory and services sector activity in the United States and the euro zone, as well as U.S. tariffs on European Union goods, the STOXX 600 was on course to post its worst weekly performance in about a year.
    One Frankfurt trader said that the week had brought "only bad news", meaning optimism had "disappeared from the markets".
    Arthur Brunner from ICF Bank also voiced fears of a "further escalation" after the US imposed 25% tariffs on European products like French wine, Italian cheese and single-malt Scotch whisky in retaliation for European Union subsidies on large aircraft.
    London-listed shares, also on course for their worst weekly performance in a year, took the biggest hit due to fresh Brexit worries and recession fears, while eurozone shares were set to post their biggest weekly decline in two months.
    Automakers fell 0.7%, with BMW shedding 1.7% after an Australian regulator called for 20,000 cars with faulty Takata airbags to be kept off the roads, many of which include BMW cars.
    With corporate news light, investors now wait for the latest U.S. payrolls data, due at 12:30 GMT, to gauge the health of the world's largest economy - particularly after a dismal set of data this week bolstered hopes of an interest rate cut in October from the Fed.
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