London — European stock markets fell for a third straight day on Thursday, as battered oil prices hovered near seven-month lows, hit overnight by worries about a supply glut and falling demand. Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 all slipped 0.3%-0.4% as trading in Europe got under way. US stock futures were also a touch weaker. Sharp falls in oil prices this week have hurt energy stocks and dampened investors’ expectations for higher inflation that would pave the way for tighter monetary policies among major central banks. "As far as the market mentality is concerned, as long as the oil price keeps weakening, this is going to tell us something about the underlying capacity of the global economy to generate inflation on a sustained basis," said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets. In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.6%. But Japan’s Nikkei ended a touch lower as a stronger yen and a plunge in t...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.