European shares in 3.3 per cent slump
European shares slipped 3.3 per cent yesterday to record their biggest one-day percentage drop in seven months as concerns about debt problems in Dubai weighed on the market, with banks the major fallers.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed down 33.81 points at 988.14 – its lowest close in three weeks.
“The Dubai worries have played a major role in rattling market sentiment at a time when the US is closed and we are not getting anything from anywhere else,” said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank.
“It is a day in which market uncertainty has been provoked again. I do not think it really reflects the underlying fundamentals of the economy and the market, it is just a sentiment shock.”
Dubai, whose extravagant building projects have been largely put on hold since the start of the global financial crisis, said on Wednesday it would ask creditors at its flagship firms Dubai World and property developer Nakheel to delay repayment on billions of dollars of debt.
Banks took the most points off the index on concerns about their potential exposure to debt problems in Dubai.
HSBC, Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, Barclays and Credit Suisse were down 3.3 to 8 perccent.
Other financials moved lower on Dubai exposure concerns. London Stock Exchange fell 7.4 per cent and Dutch insurer Aegon lost 7.7 per cent.
Shares in publishing and events group Informa, which has many Middle Eastern trade fairs, fell about 9.8 per cent.
Porsche lost 5.1 per cent as traders pointed to worries that Qatar Investment Authority may cut its 10 per cent stake in the carmaker to boost liquidity after the Dubai government asked for a debt standstill on two of its firms.
Oil stocks featured among the worst performers as oil fell 2.3 percent. BG Group, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were down 2.4 to 3.6 per cent.
Miners slipped as metal prices retreated. Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, Rio Tinto and Xstrata were all lower.