European stock markets are stuck in a rut of doom and despair after six straight days of losses.
Weak earnings results and continuing despair on Wall Street failed to give traders any glimmer of hope.
The pan-European STOXX 600 dropped 0.2% to a 22 month low.
Traders are still concerned about mutterings from the US Federal Reserve that interest rates will be tugged up again before the end of the year.
Italy’s budget problems are pulling the markets in Europe down.
As the European Commission moves in an orders the government to rip up the budget and start again, banks and bonds have fallen out of favour in Italy.
Barclays beacon in the gloom
AMS – the firm behind the chips in Apple’s iPhones – followed up a spectacular 26% dive on Tuesday with another plunge of 12.1% after disappointing investors with a forecast.
Other events troubling Wall Street include the loss of arms deals with the Saudis. Trump had expected to land a $110 billion bumper package, but the plan has gone west due to the fall-out about the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In London, department store group Debenhams hushed the market for a while when reporting a £500 million loss. Barclays Bank was one bright light in the gloom, beating forecasts with a profit of £1.6 billion.
But Brexit problems are still shadowing business in the UK, where prospects of a no deal with the European Union look an evens bet despite Prime Minster Theresa May claiming the talks were ‘95% done’.
The US dollar performed better than the markets, gaining against the euro and pound.
World stock markets
| Exchange | % change | Value | Movement |
| LONDON | |||
| FTSE 100 | 0.11% | 6962.98 | 7.77 |
| FTSE 250 | 0.30% | 18406.50 | 54.36 |
| Amsterdam | |||
| AEX | -0.60% | 507.8 | -3.06 |
| Paris | |||
| CAC40 | -0.29% | 4953.09 | -14.6 |
| Frankfurt | |||
| DAX | -0.73% | 11191.63 | -82.65 |
| STOXX50 | -0.34% | 3130.33 | -10.61 |
| Madrid | |||
| IBEX35 | -0.56% | 8677.4 | -48.7 |
| New York | |||
| Dow Jones | -0.69% | 25018.16 | -173.27 |
| NASDAQ | -2.47% | 7253.8 | -183.74 |
| Chicago | |||
| S&P500 | -1.29% | 2705.34 | -35.35 |
| Bombay | |||
| BSE Sensex | 0.55% | 34033.96 | 186.73 |
| Hong Kong | |||
| Hang Seng | -0.38% | 25249.78 | -96.77 |
| Tokyo | |||
| Nikkei | 0.37% | 22091.18 | 80.4 |
| Shanghai | |||
| Shanghai Composite | -0.31% | 2,603.30 | -18.40 |
Source: Reuters
