European stock jitters return after shootings

The FTSE 100 this afternoon dumped the bulk of the day’s gains, losing a percentage point and a half in the space of four hours.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The FTSE 100 this afternoon dumped the bulk of the day’s gains, losing a percentage point and a half in the space of four hours.

 

The renewed jitters were partly linked to a situation emerging in West Germany, where it was reported that an armed man opened fire in a cinema complex and wounded up to 50 people.

In the last few minutes Reuters cited local newspaper reports that a man was shot dead by police in the vicinity.

The DAX subsequently recouped 76 points, at last check, from the low of 10129.16, reached at 3.30pm London Time.

The stock market move also partly coincided with open of trading in the U.S. We believe re-allocation flows were part of the picture, especially for those who concluded European indices had stretched to their best levels for the day.

There’s been a similar switch in the pound, with profits taken, though sterling still looks robust against the dollar by any measure, more than half way to $1.48 as I write this.

Uncertainties still abound though, and Germany’s benchmark borrowing costs for the Eurozone reflect that, as they remain some 10 basis points from all-time lows notched last week.

The afternoon events underline that regardless of how confident the markets appeared at the start of the day, well-founded jitters remain.

That makes sense given the largely unfathomable outcome of today’s historic vote.

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