(MENAFN– ecpulse)
European shares dropped near its lowest level in 4-1/2 months by midday trading on Friday, set for a second weekly decline, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine damped investors’ risk appetite.
U.S. President Barack Obama authorized limited air strikes on Northern Iraq to help religious minorities from Islamic militant’s aggression.
In Gaza, the 72-hour cease-fire expired Friday morning and Israel-Hamas talks hit a deadlock in Cairo.
Russian President banned all imports of agricultural products from the EU and the United States in response of the sanctions imposed on Moscow due to its massive intervention in Ukraine.
Regarding fundamentals, a report from the U.K, showed that visible trade deficit soared in June, while the on the quarterly basis the shortfall reached 27.4 billion pounds, marking the most since the period through September 2013.
As of 07:18 EST, STOXX EUROPE 600 slipped 0.60% to record 325.01 points. Health Care led the decline with a drop of 1.07%, where Tod’s SPA recorded the largest losses as its shares plummeted 9.86% to 76.80 EUR.
Banca Popolare, on the other hand, led the largest gains as its equities rose 8.79% to 5.51 EUR.
Regarding other major European indices, France’s CAC 40 index plunged 0.09% to 4146.05 points, and FTSE 100 slipped 0.38% to 6572.28 points. Germany`s DAX 30 edged down 0.51% to 8992.86 points.
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