By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Oil prices surge amid airstrikes in Yemen
LONDON (MarketWatch)--European stocks fell Thursday, as
risk-averse investors fled equities around the world, even bringing
down energy shares despite a rally in oil prices spurred by tension
in the Middle East.
The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.9% to 394.85, the lowest close
since March 10. The fall reduced the pan-European benchmark's gain
for the year to 15.2%.
Read: Don't miss this 'gem' in Europe's stock market, says
Barclays
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dont-miss-this-gem-in-europes-stock-market-says-barclays-2015-03-26)
Gains for most energy shares eventually fizzled, despite a surge
in oil prices
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-surge-as-saudi-strikes-in-yemen-trigger-supply-worries-2015-03-26)(CLK5)
as reports of Saudi Arabian airstrikes in Yemen spurred concerns
about supply disruptions. But managing to advance was offshore
driller Seadrill Ltd. as it climbed 1.8%. Norwegian oil major
Statoil ASA rose 1.2% and Dutch oil services provider Royal Vopak
NV picked up 1.7%.
But overall, European markets traded lower "on the back of the
sharp selloff which we experienced in the U.S.," on Wednesday, said
Naeem Aslam, AvaTrade's chief market analyst, in a Thursday note.
"Investors are finding it difficult to assess the health of the
U.S. economy given that the recent raft of economic data has been
very disappointing."
Concerns about a poor upcoming corporate earnings seasons also
contributed to Wall Street's dive overnight
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-wall-street-keeps-a-nervous-eye-on-the-sleeping-giant-dollar-2015-03-25).
Most Asian stock markets
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japanese-stocks-fall-most-in-two-months-2015-03-26)
followed up with losses on Thursday.
Among the major European indexes Thursday, Germany's DAX 30 fell
0.2% to 11,843.68, but closed off session lows. France's CAC 40
fell 0.3% to 5,006.35.
Italy's FTSE MIB was pushed 1.1% lower to 22,900.27. Spain's
IBEX 35 ended 0.1% lower at 11,453.80.
European stocks in recent sessions have pulled back from
multiyear and record highs, in part as the euro (EURUSD) regains
ground against the U.S. dollar. The dollar's strong run this year
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-stays-weak-as-investors-look-for-fresh-clues-on-direction-2015-03-25)
has taken a breather since the Federal Reserve signaled last week
it may begin raising interest rates later than the market had
expected.
A rate hike by the Fed will be data dependent and if there's a
"consistent pattern" of disappointing reports, a "rate hike is
completely out of question. In fact another pipeline for QE could
be established," said Aslam.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 1.4% to 6,895.33
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-falls-for-third-session-amid-global-selloff-2015-03-26),
with London Stock Exchange Group PLC shares down more than 5% after
the company's largest shareholder sold its entire stake in the
company.
Greek stocks finished lower, leaving the Athex Composite down
3.7% at 764.88. Earlier Thursday, central bank data showed Greek
bank deposits sank
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greek-bank-deposits-plunge-to-decade-low-2015-03-26)
to their lowest level in nearly 10 years, highlighting worries
about the country's debt crisis and the country's possible exit
from the eurozone.
The ECB on Wednesday raised the amount of money Greek banks can
borrow
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ecb-lifts-ceiling-on-greek-emergency-loans-2015-03-26)
under an emergency lending program, to EUR71.1 billion ($77.8
billion) from EUR69.8 billion the previous week.
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