Whatever positivity was present during the morning session dissipated by the afternoon, with the European indices all taking a sharp turn into the red.
The FTSE, which didn’t even get to enjoy a rebound earlier in the day, ended up falling 50 points, plunging back towards 7600 for the first time since the intraday lows struck at the start of August. A disappointing Chinese industrial production number overnight – coming in at 6% against the forecast 6.3% – and dour update from Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), which dropped more than 6%, led the index’s hefty mining sector lower, with Anglo American (LON:AAL) falling 3% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) down 1.5%.
That’s on top of the Turkish lira crisis already souring the trading waters this week. The DAX slipped half a percent as the day went on, having been up that much after the bell, while the CAC fell 0.4% to duck back under 5400.
The pound actually managed to stay in the green, though not to the extent it was when Tuesday began. Against the dollar sterling nudged 0.1% higher, leaving cable short of $1.28, while against the euro is rose 0.2%, keeping it above €1.12.
The Dow Jones was the exception to all this. The US index rose 50 points after the bell rang on Wall Street, pushing it towards 25250 as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) investors shrugged off the news that Turkey will stop buying iPhones. There’s still a way to go, however, if the Dow is the end the session positively and avoid a fifth consecutive day of losses.
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