LONDON: World stocks headed for their fifth weekly loss out of the past six on Friday, June 10, depressed by concerns about a slowing global economy and by Europe's ongoing struggle to control Greek debt.
Wall Street also looked set to open lower.
The euro slipped against the dollar despite the European Central Bank's all-but-official confirmation that it will raise interest rates in July.
Brent oil hit a five week high and U.S. crude reached over $102 a barrel but both later slipped back after Saudi Arabia began offering more oil to Asian refiners, easing worries about supplies following an inconclusive OPEC meeting.
MSCI's all-country world stock index was down a quarter of a percent, losing more than 6 percent over six weeks and gaining only 1.5 percent for the year to date.
Some worries about the state of the world economy were assuaged on Thursday by better-than-expected U.S. trade deficit data, which may imply stronger second-quarter growth than expected.
But the euro zone debt troubles and a generally defensive stance by many investors pulled stocks lower.
"Even though in our base scenario we still believe that this is a temporary slowdown and that economic growth will pick up later in the year, the markets will continue to be nervous and volatile in the meantime," said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets in Brussels.
Stresses in the euro zone remained firmly in place, despite moves by Greece to institute a new austerity plan and some progress among euro zone leaders to agree a new bail out.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet appeared to be at loggerheads with Germany over the role that private investors might play in some kind of refinancing of Greek debt.
The FTSEurofirst 300 stock index was down 0.4 percent. Earlier Japan's Nikkei closed up half a percent.
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EURO WEAKER
The euro struggled to keep its footing as the worries about debt problems overwhelmed any support from a likely interest rate rise by the European Central Bank next month.
"The image of European policymakers and the ECB standing toe to toe on this particular issue is something investors find deeply unsettling," said Michael Derks, chief strategist at FXPro.
The euro was down a third of a percent at $1.4462, although it got a brief boost when Germany's Bundestag voted in favour of a motion to approve new aid for Greece.
Core euro zone debt was generally a bit stronger, but there was more pressure on the periphery.
The premium investors demand to hold Spanish and other lower-rated government bonds rather than benchmark German Bunds rose.
Five-year credit default swaps (CDS) on Greek government debt rose 25 basis points to 1,545 basis points, according to data monitor Markit. This means it costs 1.545 million euros to protect 10 million euros of exposure to Greek bonds.
Spanish CDS were 9 basis points up at 269 basis points, while Portuguese CDS were 12 basis points higher at 725 basis points. Ireland's were 8 basis points higher at 695 basis points. - Reuters
Wall Street also looked set to open lower.
The euro slipped against the dollar despite the European Central Bank's all-but-official confirmation that it will raise interest rates in July.
Brent oil hit a five week high and U.S. crude reached over $102 a barrel but both later slipped back after Saudi Arabia began offering more oil to Asian refiners, easing worries about supplies following an inconclusive OPEC meeting.
MSCI's all-country world stock index was down a quarter of a percent, losing more than 6 percent over six weeks and gaining only 1.5 percent for the year to date.
Some worries about the state of the world economy were assuaged on Thursday by better-than-expected U.S. trade deficit data, which may imply stronger second-quarter growth than expected.
But the euro zone debt troubles and a generally defensive stance by many investors pulled stocks lower.
"Even though in our base scenario we still believe that this is a temporary slowdown and that economic growth will pick up later in the year, the markets will continue to be nervous and volatile in the meantime," said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets in Brussels.
Stresses in the euro zone remained firmly in place, despite moves by Greece to institute a new austerity plan and some progress among euro zone leaders to agree a new bail out.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet appeared to be at loggerheads with Germany over the role that private investors might play in some kind of refinancing of Greek debt.
The FTSEurofirst 300 stock index was down 0.4 percent. Earlier Japan's Nikkei closed up half a percent.
''
EURO WEAKER
The euro struggled to keep its footing as the worries about debt problems overwhelmed any support from a likely interest rate rise by the European Central Bank next month.
"The image of European policymakers and the ECB standing toe to toe on this particular issue is something investors find deeply unsettling," said Michael Derks, chief strategist at FXPro.
The euro was down a third of a percent at $1.4462, although it got a brief boost when Germany's Bundestag voted in favour of a motion to approve new aid for Greece.
Core euro zone debt was generally a bit stronger, but there was more pressure on the periphery.
The premium investors demand to hold Spanish and other lower-rated government bonds rather than benchmark German Bunds rose.
Five-year credit default swaps (CDS) on Greek government debt rose 25 basis points to 1,545 basis points, according to data monitor Markit. This means it costs 1.545 million euros to protect 10 million euros of exposure to Greek bonds.
Spanish CDS were 9 basis points up at 269 basis points, while Portuguese CDS were 12 basis points higher at 725 basis points. Ireland's were 8 basis points higher at 695 basis points. - Reuters
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