Equities slide and the euro falls as Turkish turmoil wreaks havoc
A plummeting Turkish lira sends ripples through global equities and emerging markets, as investors scurry for safety amid the fear of a wider fallout
London — A plummeting Turkish lira sent ripples through global equities and emerging markets on Friday, as the rising fear of a wider fallout sent investors scurrying for the safety of assets such as the yen and US government bonds. The lira fell as much as 12% against the dollar earlier in the day, its worst day since Turkey’s financial crisis of 2001, due to a deepening rift with the US, worry about its own economy and lack of action from policy makers. The currency is down more than 35% this year, its losses accelerating as the dollar jumped to 13-month highs. That is spreading the fear of its effect on other economies and markets — bank shares across the continent fell and the euro slipped to its lowest since July 2017 as Financial Times quoted sources as saying the European Central Bank (ECB) was concerned about European banks’ exposure to Turkey. Shares in France’s BNP Paribas, Italy’s UniCredit and Spain’s BBVA, the banks seen as most exposed to Turkey, fell as much as 4%. Th...
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