ROME: European stocks resumed declines after briefly erasing them, signaling a lack of conviction among investors.
Concern over global growth prospects amid a slowdown in China and uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s actions is weighing on shares, boosting volatility. A gauge measuring swings on euro-area stocks is at its highest level since 2011 on a monthly basis, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.4 percent at 10:34 a.m. in London, after briefly reversing losses of as much as 1.8 percent to rise 0.2 percent. The benchmark gauge has fallen 11 percent in the third quarter, heading for its worst performance since 2011.
“The greater macro uncertainty led by, but not exclusive to, China has really spooked investors,” said James Buckley, a portfolio manager at Baring Asset Management in London. “The Fed doesn’t feel able to raise rates yet and there are concerns over whether Europe will be able to continue its very gradual recovery. We will soon be getting into earnings season which focuses more on the micro. I suspect we may have seen the worst of the selling.”
