Global stocks nearing 17-month low

BROAD stock declines in Europe and the United States dragged world equity markets lower yesterday, adding to a sell-off that has sent global stocks near 17-month lows.

The FTSE 100 traded lower yesterday as investors continued to be concerned about the state of the global economy.

London’s blue-chip index closed down 71.93 points, or 1.05pc, at 6,773.24.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “The disappointing industrial production and retail sales figures from China on Friday are still playing on investors’ minds.

“Investors are worried about global growth, and the increased speculation about a possible US recession is adding to the weak sentiment.”

In corporate news, online retailer Asos warned over sales and profits after experiencing a “significant deterioration” in trading in the run-up to Christmas.

Meanwhile, Energy giants SSE and npower called off their merger, blaming “challenging market conditions” and the UK government’s price cap.

The companies said the deal has been affected by multiple factors, including the performance of their businesses, clarity on the final level of the UK government’s default tariff cap and changing energy market conditions.

Germany’s DAX was down 1pc and France’s CAC 40 fell 1.03pc.

The downward trend was reflected on the ISEQ Index here, which was down 0.88pc to 5470.72 yesterday.

Gainers on the day included Petroneft and Hostelworld, with laggards including Ormonde and Aryzta.