EU’s Moscovici unruffled by global stock selloff
ATHENS: EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said he was not overly concerned over the worldwide slump in share prices as the ‘fundamentals’ of the global economy remained healthy.
“You can have volatility in the markets, or corrections, but I am very confident in the fundamentals of the global economy and particularly the European economy,” Moscovici told an event in Athens.
“The reforms we’ve made in recent years have left us more solid,” he added.
Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic continued their sharp declines on Thursday, as volatility in share prices continued to dog global equity trading.
At the closing bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 23,858.90, down 4.2 per cent.
The broad-based S&P 500 sank 3.8 per cent to 2,581.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 3.9 per cent to 6,777.16.
After a long run of almost uninterrupted gains for world equity markets fuelled by cheap money and optimism about the economy, traders are navigating turbulent waters as central banks – led by the US Federal Reserve – look to lift borrowing costs.
In the eurozone, Paris and Frankfurt also closed dramatically lower Thursday – and Asian markets have also taken hits in recent days.
Analysts have suggested that while share price slumps would likely have little immediate consequence on the global economy, they could impact consumer and business confidence going forward. The European Commission raised its growth projections Wednesday, signalling growing confidence that the eurozone’s solid recovery would power ahead into next year.
The commission, the EU’s executive arm, said the 19-country single currency bloc’s economy would expand by 2.3 per cent in 2018, up from a previous forecast of 2.1 per cent made in November.