ROME: Europe’s main stock markets dipped at the open, as investors still rattled by last week’s turmoil ponder China’s slowing economy and looming US interest rate moves.
The CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.83 per cent to 4,636.44, points at the start of trade, and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 lost 0.94 per cent to 10,200.98 compared with Friday’s close.
The London’s stock exchange was closed for a national holiday.
Global equities were hammered last week as risk-averse investors dumped shares on spreading panic that the flagging Chinese economy – the world’s second largest – could spark a new worldwide recession.
Markets gained much of that back in late-week gains on encouraging economic news from the US.
But lingering concerns about China and comments over the weekend by US Federal Reserve officials indicating that an anticipated September hike in interest rates may be delayed until turmoil created by Chinese slowing passes appeared to weigh on investors on Monday, analysts said.
“We’ve got a little over two weeks before we make the decision and we’ve got time to wait and see the incoming data and see what exactly, what is going on now in the economy,” Fed vice chairman Stanley Fischer told CNBC over the weekend, when he also acknowledged that severe market turbulence created by fears over China would be factored into the rate hike move.
