World shares traded stable on Friday, June 16, after selling in the tech sector triggered their biggest fall in over a month.
It was set to be the second week of falls for MSCI’s widely tracked world index, although Europe, which has been the star performer in the first half of the year, was trying to end it on an upnote.
London .FTSE, Frankfurt .GDAXI and Paris .FCHI climbed between 0.3 and 0.5 percent [.EU] and the euro EUR=EBS, the pound GBP=D3 and the Swiss franc CHF= rose against the dollar in the currency markets.
Greece’s 10-year government borrowing costs fell to their lowest in almost a month in bond markets as well, as euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund approved a long-delayed 8.5 billion euro lifeline for Athens, albeit keeping them hanging on for debt relief.
The Japanese yen hit a two-week low against the dollar after the Bank of Japan left its mass money printing program unchanged, maintaining the contrast with the U.S. Federal Reserve, which signaled further tightening this week.
It was trading 0.3 percent lower at 111.23 yen JPY=D4 per dollar, while the euro EUR=EBS was buying $1.1173 compared with almost $1.13 earlier in the week.
The yen’s drop helped Japan’s Nikkei .N225 advance 0.7 percent, narrowing its loss for the week to 0.3 percent.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS ended down roughly 0.85 percent for the week though for emerging markets more broadly it was looking like being the worst week of the year so far.
Russian stocks .IRTS steadied on Friday but have been hammered more than 4 percent this week and the rouble RUB= is down for a third straight week, on talk of increased Western sanctions and as oil prices have stumbled back again. [EMRG/FRX]
Overnight, the Nasdaq .IXIC led losses on Wall Street, dragged lower again by shares including Apple .AAPL.O and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) that tumbled on bearish analysts’ reports.
The broader S&P 500 index .SPX fell 0.2 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI slipped 0.1 percent though future’s prices pointed to a modest recovery later. ESc1
