World stock markets shaken by Bhutto killing
Sunday, 30 December 2007
LONDON, Dec 29 (AFP): Global stock markets wobbled Friday as the murder of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto reverberated around the world, while investors took profits before the year-end, dealers said.
European equities were mixed, following losses earlier in Asia as Bhutto's assassination, together with weak US economic data, sent nervous investors fleeing to safe haven investments, they added.
Wall Street shares trimmed opening gains after a dramatic drop in sales of new homes in the United States renewed worries about the impact of the persistent housing slump on the world's biggest economy.
Bhutto's death in Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its "war on terror," has raised geopolitical concerns about stability in the nuclear-armed country.
The Karachi Stock Exchange is closed for three days as the nation observes a period of mourning for the politician killed by a suicide bomber.
Investor sentiment was subdued in Frankfurt Friday, which was the final trading day of 2007. But London and Paris re-open next Monday for a shortened session before a public holiday Tuesday, January 1, 2008.
The London FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed 0.32 per cent lower Friday at 6,476.90 points. In Paris the CAC 40 closed practically unchanged at at 5,627.25 while in Frankfurt the Dax gained 0.36 per cent to reach 8,067.32.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.07 per cent at 13,368.39 in midday trade. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.15 per cent at 2,680.68 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.16 per cent to 1,478.67.
Most Asian markets fell Friday amid anxiety over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
European equities were mixed, following losses earlier in Asia as Bhutto's assassination, together with weak US economic data, sent nervous investors fleeing to safe haven investments, they added.
Wall Street shares trimmed opening gains after a dramatic drop in sales of new homes in the United States renewed worries about the impact of the persistent housing slump on the world's biggest economy.
Bhutto's death in Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its "war on terror," has raised geopolitical concerns about stability in the nuclear-armed country.
The Karachi Stock Exchange is closed for three days as the nation observes a period of mourning for the politician killed by a suicide bomber.
Investor sentiment was subdued in Frankfurt Friday, which was the final trading day of 2007. But London and Paris re-open next Monday for a shortened session before a public holiday Tuesday, January 1, 2008.
The London FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed 0.32 per cent lower Friday at 6,476.90 points. In Paris the CAC 40 closed practically unchanged at at 5,627.25 while in Frankfurt the Dax gained 0.36 per cent to reach 8,067.32.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.07 per cent at 13,368.39 in midday trade. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.15 per cent at 2,680.68 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.16 per cent to 1,478.67.
Most Asian markets fell Friday amid anxiety over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.