Markets plummet around the globe on central bank jitters

The tranquillity that has enveloped global markets for more than two months is being upended as central banks start to question the benefits of further monetary easing, sending government debt, stocks and emerging-market assets to their biggest declines since June.

The Iseq in Dublin performed poorly, down almost 1.7 per cent. The UK’s FTSE 100 lost 1.2 per cent, and France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.1 per cent. Germany’s DAX, which earlier this week erased its annual drop, slipped 1 per cent, turning negative again for the year.

US stocks fell the most since Britain voted to leave the European Union, after a Federal Reserve official signalled more willingness to raise interest rates.

Dublin

It was a day of gloom on the Iseq, with poor performances from many of its best-known stocks.

C&C, the Bulmers/Magners cidermaker, fell 3.3 per cent. Tough trading is expected in the period ahead for the UK pub industry, according to brewer Greene King. Magners is relatively weak in the English/Welsh pub sector.

The Dublin index's big, global stocks all slipped due to the jitters that gripped international markets. Smurfit Kappa fell by 1.8 per cent, CRH also dropped by 3.3 per cent, while food company Glanbia, which is heavily invested in the US, dropped by 2.75 per cent.

Irish Continental Group, the owner of Irish Ferries, slipped by 4.5 per cent after a seller entered the market late in the session. It dipped in and out of the red for most of the day, but plummeted after 4.30pm.

London

Tullow Oil and Royal Dutch Shell contributed the most to losses among oil companies today as crude trimmed a weekly gain.

Burberry Group slid 2.5 per cent following a report that it cut prices in Hong Kong and China because of weakness in the British pound.

Bunzl retreated 3.4 per cent after HSBC Holdings cut its rating on the distributor of disposable tableware and food packaging to hold from buy.

Greene King lost 6.1 per cent after the British pub owner warned on potentially tougher trading ahead. Rival pub group, JD Wetherspoon, climbed 2.4 per cent after it reported better-than-expected earnings.

Sports Direct International rose 2.1 per cent after saying it will buy back about 5 per cent of its shares.

Europe

Europe’s FTSEuroFirst 300 index of leading shares was down 1.1 per cent, dragging it down 1.5 per cent on the week. The Stoxx 600 index was down 0.4 per cent.

On the upside, Deutsche Bank advanced 4.1 per cent after a report that it's nearing an agreement with the US Department of Justice to settle a probe into the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.

Rubis SCA rallied 7.7 per cent after the French operator of oil and gas storage sites reported earnings that beat estimates.

Novo Nordisk fell 2.2 per cent after JP Morgan cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "overweight".

New York

The year’s strongest performing industries in the S&P 500 – energy, phone and utility and raw-materials companies were the biggest losers in Friday’s trading, falling at least 1.6 per cent heading into afternoon trading.

Banks were little changed, supported by speculation that higher interest rates will lift profits.

Apple, Exxon Mobil and General Electric were the biggest drags on the benchmark, falling more than 1 per cent.

Real-estate companies weighed on the broader financial group, while lenders and insurers curbed the decline. MetLife added 2 per cent and Bank of America increased 0.5 per cent. Simon Property Group and American Tower lost more than 2.5 per cent.

Following the interest rate comments from a Fed official, traders had pushed bets for a rate increase this month to 38 per cent, though they’ve since moderated to 30 per cent.

– (Additional reporting: Bloomerg/Reuters)