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triggered by a fall in investment.
However, the mood improved in the afternoon as fresh data came in showing US new jobless claims fell last week and retail sales picked up in May.
In afternoon deals as trading opened in New York, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0,27 percent to stand at 6 282,26 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 shed 0,79 percent to 8 078,82 points and in Paris the CAC 40 retreated by 0,27 percent in value to 3 783,40 compared with last Wednesday’s closing levels. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index dived 6,35 percent to close at 12 445,38 points last Thursday as a strong yen hurt exporters, traders said.
The heavy drop, which has resulted in the Nikkei losing about one fifth of its value since May, was attributed largely to jitters over an end to central bank stimulus.
Concern is focused mainly on the US Federal Reserve’s massive monetary easing, which has been credited with propping up global equity markets in recent months.
However, cracks have also begun to emerge in a plan by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to power the world’s third-largest economy, a blueprint dubbed Abenomics.
“Despite the fact that it remains unlikely that either the Fed or the Bank of Japan are likely to start reining back on their stimulus measures any time soon, investors appear to have decided that the mere prospect of an exit strategy is enough of a reason to look at pulling money off the table on a fairly comprehensive scale,” Michael Hewson, senior analyst at CMC Markets UK said on Thursday.
“Ever since talk of Fed tapering was first mentioned, US bond yields have edged higher and money has leaked out of emerging markets and emerging market currencies, sending them lower as the US dollar becomes more attractive.” — AFP.
Online Reporter