LONDON (SHARECAST) - Europe’s main markets are mixed in midday dealings as investors mull what implications Dubai’s decision to delay payment on some of its $59bn debt pile is likely to have.
The Dax is 8 points lower in Frankfurt at 5,606, while the Cac is 8 points higher at 3,688. The Swiss market has gained 3 points to 6,286.
European markets dropped early on after posting triple-digit falls yesterday. London slumped more than 3% on Wednesday.
Asian markets also felt the impact. Japan hit a new four-month closing low, with banks bashed on worries about the financial sector’s exposure to a debt default by Dubai World.
The state-owned property business has asked creditors if it can delay debt repayments due next month until May of next year.
Hong Kong fell over 1,000 points as big banks like HSBC tumbled on fears about the situation in the Gulf state. There are serious concerns that the country will be forced to sell stakes to raise capital.
Fears about Dubai World are also weighing on crude oil prices and energy shares. In Europe, Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and Total are all lower.
Elsewhere, financial services group ING has priced its €7.5bn rights issue at a steep discount on Friday. The Dutch firm said it would issue 1.7bn new shares at €4.24.
Economic confidence in the eurozone rose for the eighth month running and slightly more than expected in November, official figures showed this morning.
The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator added 2.7 points to 88.8 in the eurozone, though that is still below the long-term average of 100.
