The pan-European Stoxx 600 was off 0.4 percent with almost every sector and major bourse in the red. Banking stocks were the worst performers in early deals, down by about 0.8 percent, but closely followed by telecoms. Some downgrades in the sector contributed to the share price moves.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.59 percent to hit a fresh near nine-month low, while Japan’s Nikkei average ended flat after erasing earlier losses.
· Japan’s Nikkei ended flat but near one-month lows on Thursday, taking its cue from weakness on Wall Street as a simmering trade row between the United States and China hurt investor risk appetite.
The Nikkei eased 1.38 points to 22,270.39, its weakest closing since June 1. The index had dropped as much as 1 percent in early trade, before flirting with positive territory in the afternoon.
· Chinese shares fell back into the red in afternoon trading on Thursday, staying firmly on course for their worst monthly performance in years as tensions with the United States over trade continue to dim China’s economic outlook.
The benchmark CSI300 Index .CSI300 and the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC both gave up weak midday gains, deepening losses that pushed them into bear-market territory on Tuesday and Wednesday. At 0618 GMT, the Shanghai index <,SSEC> was down 0.5 percent and the blue-chip index .CSI300 was off 0.6 percent.
The Shanghai benchmark has fallen about 9.5 percent in June, on track for its worst month since January 2016, when it tumbled 22 percent.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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