World markets dropped sharply, driven lower in particularly by the Friday May jobs report from the U.S. Signs of recession in Europe and a lack of coordinated effort to solve the sovereign debt crisis added to the pressure. Neither of these troubles will go away soon, which means markets will remain under pressure.
In Asia, the Hang Seng dropped 2.01% to 18.186, and is now close to a technical correction. The Nikkei dropped 1.71% to 8,296. The Shanghai Composite fell 2.73%, perhaps in part because of concerns China’s GDP is under pressure.
At the open in Europe. concerns about the future of the EU pressed markets down. The Dax 30 dropped 1.37% to 5,967. The CAC 40 was down 0.25% to 2,943. And the FTSE 100 was off 1.14% to 5,260.
Douglas A. McIntyre
