REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN (UK)
LONDON — Oil prices have risen to a five-month high, stock share prices are falling, and demand for safe-haven assets has risen amid international fears about the Syrian crisis and the anticipation of U.S. and possibly European military intervention there, Reuters reports.
After U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said publicly that President Barack Obama was consulting with allies before deciding how to respond to the Aug. 21 chemical gas attack outside Damascus, U.S. stocks ended 0.4 percent lower Monday.
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New York Stock Exchange. Photo: Rahav Segev - Rahav Segev/ZUMA
The Guardian reports that Europe’s stock markets fell steadily Tuesday during the first two hours of trading, with the London FTSE 100 currently down almost 1%.
European shares were down 0.6 percent in early trading, and the major Asian markets all lost ground overnight. Tokyo's Nikkei closed at 0.69 percent lower, while the safe-haven yen rose broadly.
The Italian stock market, which is down 266 points, has suffered some of the most significant losses, mostly because of the instability triggered by Silvio Berlusconi’s tax fraud conviction.
Reuters video :
