(MENAFN- AFP) Europe's major stock markets slid on Friday, with investors seeking safety after US President Barack Obama authorised air strikes on Iraq, traders said.
Frankfurt's main index dropped below the psychologically important 9,000-points level for the first time since March after Tokyo closed at a two-month low level.
The DAX 30 shed 0.92 percent to 8,956.25 points, its lowest point since March 14.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.63 percent to stand at 6,555.56 points approaching midday in the British capital.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index lost 0.35 percent to 4,135.33 compared with Thursday's close.
On foreign exchange markets, investors rushed to the yen, seen as a haven currency, helping to push the Japanese currency up against the dollar and euro but the European single currency recovered from nine month lows versus the greenback.
On the eurozone bond market, funds seeking refuge from risk flowed into German and French bonds, pushing up the prices of these instruments and automatically pushing down the fixed interest or yield which they carry in percentage terms.
"Markets were again under pressure Friday ... as investors continued the flight to safe haven assets," said Spreadex trader Lee Mumford.
"The focus for traders again shifted towards another conflict zone in the Middle East as President Obama announced late last night that he had authorised air strikes ... in northern Iraq.
"With geopolitical risks increasing in multiple areas of the world, risk aversion seems to have firmly taken hold," Mumford added.
Markets were being weighed down also by the Russia-Ukraine crisis and investor unease over the latest Israel-Palestinian conflict.
On Thursday, Obama ordered US warplanes back into the skies over Iraq to drop food to refugees and if necessary launch air strikes to halt what he said was a potential "genocide".
Obama warned that he had also authorised the military to carry out targeted strikes in support of Iraqi forces to break the Islamists' advance or to protect US advisors working on the ground.
"The rate by which investors are fleeing out of stocks is speeding up as geopolitical tensions continue to increase especially after Russia has started to retaliate in form of counter-sanctions against the West," said Markus Huber, senior analyst at brokers Peregrine & Black.
In Paris, economists at Credit Agricole CIB said that risks arising from crises in Ukraine, Gaza and Iraq "continue to be the main concern on the market and there is no sign of this easing up."
In foreign exchange trading, the euro climbed to $1.3391 from $1.3363 late in New York on Thursday. The single currency had slumped to $1.3333 on Wednesday, its lowest level for nine months.
The euro meanwhile hit a near nine-month low against the Japanese currency on Friday, at 135.73 yen. It later recovered to 136.31 yen, which compared with 136.42 yen late on Thursday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose sharply to $1,317.30 an ounce on Friday from $1,305.25 Thursday.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.