(MENAFN– ecpulse)
European stocks extended slump early Friday amid worsening geopolitical tensions in the Eastern Europe and Middle East. Russia tension also weighed on the sentiment.
President Barack Obama authorized targeted airstrikes and emergency assistance missions in northern Iraq, saying Thursday that U.S. must act to protect American Personnel and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the face of advances by violent Islamist militants.
The Stoxx 600 index hit a fresh five-month low on the heels on the growing geopolitical risks hurling out of Middle East. The pan-European benchmark fell 1.08% to 323.07 as of 04:15 a.m. ET, with shares of telecommunications leading the slump by 1.56% loss.
The air strikes would be the first carried out by the U.S. military in Iraq since the withdrawal of its forces at the end of 2011, but Mr. Obama insisted he would not commit any ground forces and had no intention of letting the U.S. get dragged back into a war there.
His remarks came as the U.S. began an effort to drop humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians in the northwest of the country.
Moving to Eastern Europe where tensions continue to build up in Ukraine and Russia hurting the sentiment amid the new sanctions war between Western government and the Kremlin.
Earlier this week, the U.S. and NATO said that Russia had massed thousands of troops at the Ukrainian borders - news that boosted fears of a possible escalation between the West and Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a decree imposing a one-year ban on certain agricultural produce, foods, and raw materials from countries that have sanctioned Russia, including the US and the European Union.
- Britain`s FTSE 100 index fell 0.83% to 6,542.02
- France`s CAC 40 index fell 0.61% to 4,124.42
- Germany`s DAX 30 index fell 1.15% to 9,935.89
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.