LONDON — Stocks in Europe and Asia fell sharply on Friday after terrorist attacks in Spain added to the issues concerning investors, spurring them to park their money in traditional safe havens.þþThe attacks in Barcelona and the seaside town of Cambrils, which were the worst to hit Spain in more than a decade, left at least 14 people dead, and were the latest in a string of violent incidents to strike European cities in the past two years.þþGlobal investors were already voicing concern over the apparent inability of the White House to advance its policy agenda of infrastructure spending and tax reform, with President Trump embroiled in a controversy over his remarks regarding violence in Charlottesville, Va. And while tensions between Washington and Pyongyang over North Korea’s nuclear arsenal have cooled, they remain of concern as well.þþThe main stock indexes in Britain, France and Germany were all lower by midday in Europe, while Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1.2 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.1 percent.þþInvestors moved their money into the relative safety of government bonds and gold, both of which tend to perform better in times of high tension. The yields on British and German 10-year bonds, which move inversely to the price, were both lower. And gold gained 0.7 percent, to more than $1,300 an ounce.þþThe sharp downward movement in stock markets was a contrast to earlier in the year, when traders appeared inured to political risk, pushing shares ever higher. In particular, the VIX index — which measures volatility in the stock market and is known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge” — has jumped higher in recent weeks.
Source: NY Times
