Europe close: Stocks, euro fall after reports of Ukraine tensions
- Russian aid trucks enter Ukraine
- Russian artillery firing from inside of Ukraine
- Euro slightly lower
FTSE 100: -0.04%
Dax-30: -0.66%
Cac-40: -0.93%
FTSE Mibtel: -0.46%
Ibex 35: -0.53%
Stoxx 600: -0.23%
The main European equity benchmarks closed in the red on Friday as the newsflow coming out of Ukraine took a turn for the worse.
Towards midday Ukraine announced that part of the Russian aid convoy which had been stationed on its border had actually crossed inside.
That was followed by statements from NATO officials, after the close of trading, that Russian artillery units inside of Ukraine were firing against that country's Ukrainian forces.
In the morning equities had already been trading in a mixed fashion despite the fresh record highs reached overnight on Wall Street and ahead of speeches from several global policy makers this afternoon at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the US Federal Reserve's annual economics symposium.
A speech from Fed chair Janet Yellen is particularly awaited. She is expected to deliver 'dovish' remarks which will help to offset the more hawkish than expected tone of the last Fed minutes.
In a recent article in the Financial Times ex-Monetary Policy Committee member Adam Posen argued that central bankers should err on the side of reducing unemployment much as in the early-80s Fed chairman Paul Volker carried out a very restrictive monetary policy aimed at quashing inflation.
LSE announces fund raising
The LSE has decided to raise £938m to partially finance the acquisition of Frank Russell Company.
The German economics ministry has authorised RWE to sell its oil and gas unit DEA to a group of investors headed by Russian financier Mikhail Fridman, despite the current geopolitical backdrop, Reuters reports citing two persons familiar with the matter.
From a sector standpoint the biggest losses on the DJ Stoxx 600 were being incurred by the following industrial groups: Basic resources (-0.73%), Utilities (-0.65%) and Automobiles&Parts (-0.59%).
Single currency moves slightly higher
The euro/dollar fell by 0.32% to the 1.324 mark.
Front month Brent crude edged lower by 0.42% to $102.2 per barrel on the ICE.
AB