Bangkok — World shares fell Friday ahead of the release of U.S. consumer price data, with European benchmarks sliding in early trading on concerns over Turkey.
KEEPING SCORE: Germany’s DAX fell 1.2 percent to 12,519.11 and the CAC 40 in France fell 1 percent to 5,448.10. Britain’s FTSE 100 sank 0.5 percent to 7,706.66. The future contract for the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.4 percent at 25,391.00 and the contract for the S&P 500 lost 0.4 percent to 2,841.20.
ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 1.3 percent to 22,298.08 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 0.8 percent to 28,366.62. The Shanghai Composite index recovered from early losses to end flat at 2,795.31. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 declined 0.3 percent to 6,278.40. In South Korea, the Kospi lost 0.9 percent to 2,282.79. India’s Sensex fell 0.3 percent to 37,908.92. Shares were lower in Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore but rose in Indonesia.
TURKEY: Turkey’s government was due to outline a new economic model on Friday as worries over debt deepened. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to keep interest rates low to support economic growth, while independent economists say the central bank should be free to raise rates to rein in inflation. The lira has gyrated over the past year and was trading at 5.98 lira to the dollar early Friday. It dropped to 5.47 on Thursday.
ANALYST’S VIEWPOINT: “Officials are reportedly preparing stimulus measures in a bid to prop up growth, but these would simply exacerbate Turkey’s economic vulnerabilities and could ultimately tip the country into a full-blown crisis,” Capital Economics said in a commentary.
JAPAN GDP: The world’s third-largest economy expanded at a 1.9 percent annual pace in April-June, rebounding from a 0.6 percent contraction in the previous quarter, the government reported. Quarterly growth was 0.5 percent, driven mainly by better-than-expected domestic demand. Trade exerted a slight drag on growth. “We see rising challenges for the economy due to waning consumer confidence and an uncertain global trade environment, which will weigh on growth in exports and investment,” Fitch said in an analysis.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 18 cents to $66.63 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dipped 0.2 percent to $66.81 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, gave up 15 cents to $71.92 a barrel. It lost 0.3 percent to $72.07 per barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 110.94 yen from 111.09 yen after the report of strong second-quarter growth data. The euro fell to $1.1443 from $1.1526. /vvp