Sharp Early Losses in the U.S. Spook European Investors
May 11, 2011
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 40 points in early Downtown trading after a stronger-than-expected report on U.S. gross domestic product data renewed fears among equity and bond investors about rising interest rates. Prices were flat to lower in Germany, London, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands in trading focused on Wall Street. The Spanish market mirrored losses elsewhere in Europe. Stocks lost ground in Belgium, despite a strong showing for electronics giant Barco. In Milan, stocks barely budged in another day of anemic trading, and the Swedish market also traded flat despite strong gains for the forestry sector. But the South African market moved higher, spurred on by futures led-trading. In dollar terms, the European sector of the Dow Jones World Stock Index fell 0.98 to 146.19 Thursday, after gaining 0.39 a day earlier. The world index as a whole lost 1.16 to 138.26, adding to Wednesday's loss of 0.38. Fishing and air-freight stocks led the Dow Jones Global Industry Groups, while biotechnology and medical-device issues were among the laggards. European Stock Market Indexes Market Belgium
