Indices
US stocks continued to fall last week. The main factors behind the stock declines are heightened concerns about the conflict in the Middle East and Wednesday’s inflation data. The latter rose above expectations in March and the markets reacted with a sharp fall. As a result, the S&P 500 hit four-week lows and the DJIA Index even fell to its lowest level since the end of January this year.
Stocks in Europe were similarly affected, with the Euro Stoxx 50 Index also at four-week lows. Of the major markets, only the FTSE 100 Index (+1.07%), which includes many multinational companies generating revenue from abroad and thus benefiting from the strengthening of the dollar against the pound, fared better. Europe’s STOXX Europe 600 Index ended 0.26% lower, Germany’s DAX lost 1.35% and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.63%.