UK and European stocks fell for a second day on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 slipped below 6230 to its lowest in five days. The German DAX dropped to 10,930, its lowest since November 18.
A Russian jet has been shot down by two Turkish jets after allegedly not heeding requests to leave Turkish airspace near the Syrian border. The heightened geopolitical threat from the downing of a Russian jet by a NATO member country while Brussels remains in lockdown is sending people into safe havens like the yen and gold and out of travel-sensitive stocks.
Commodities have bounced back with oil trading higher with rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The commodity bounce has helped the mining sector including Glencore (L:GLEN) shares towards the top of the FTSE 100. Babcock is top riser on the UK benchmark after well-received H1 results while Pearson (L:PSON) is a top faller after a broker downgrade.
The British pound has lost some ground against the euro and the US Dollar following dovish comments from Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane ahead of inflation report hearings. Mr Haldane has said inflation risks are skewed to the downside and that there is evidence wage growth is slowing. Given falling oil prices and the strength of the pound versus the euro in the light of further easing planned by the ECB, Carney is likely to play the dove card.
US stocks look set for a weaker open ahead of the second estimate for third quarter GDP. Growth forecasts have been revised higher to 2% YoY.
USA pre-opening levels
S&P 500: 7 points lower at 2,079
Dow Jones: 54 points lower at 17,738
Nasdaq 100: 18 points lower at 4,656
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