Stocks Fall With Euro on Turkey Contagion Concerns: Markets Wrap

European stocks declined by the most in a week, following shares lower in Asia, after a news report stoked concern Turkey’s problems are spilling over into the euro zone. The common currency sank, while the dollar advanced alongside Treasuries.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid, dragged down by banks and miners, after the Financial Times reported that the ECB was concerned about the exposure of European lenders to Turkey. U.S. equity futures declined alongside shares from Hong Kong to Sydney. The euro dropped to the weakest level in a year, while the dollar rallied with Treasuries and core European bonds. Turkey’s lira sunk to a fresh record low amid the diplomatic spat with the U.S., as Turkish investors look to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to calm their nerves when he speaks Friday for the first time since the latest sell-off began.

Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and other countries set the tone for markets this week, with the latest leg of the lira’s downward spiral triggered by a diplomatic row with America. Earlier in the week, China responded to the Trump administration’s latest trade war volley with additional tariffs of its own. The ruble hit a two-year low after the U.S. announced new sanctions on Russia over the March 4 nerve-agent attack on a former double agent in the U.K.

RGT Wealth Advisors’ Chuck Thoele discusses the market impact of trade tensions and rising interest rates.
Source: Bloomberg

Elsewhere, the pound weakened, heading for its worst week since February, as oil dipped as fears about global supplies receded. Tesla shares fell in after-market trading after CNBC reported that its board planned to meet with financial advisers next week to formalize a process to take the company private.

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These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 0.7 percent as of 9:40 a.m.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index sank 0.4 percent to the lowest in a week.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.5 percent.
Germany’s DAX Index fell 1.3 percent.
The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 1 percent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1 percent.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.6 percent to the highest in more than six weeks on the largest climb in a month.
The euro decreased 0.7 percent to $1.145.
The British pound sank 0.5 percent to $1.2756.
The Japanese yen jumped 0.2 percent to 110.85 per dollar.
The Turkish lira sank 7.4 percent to 5.9963 per dollar, the weakest on record.