Visitors pass a sign inside the London Stock Exchange. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.76% at 6,056 points yesterday.

AFP
London

European stock markets slid yesterday as a rally inspired by the US interest rate hike petered out heading into the weekend break.
The Frankfurt and Paris exchanges closed down more than 1.0% while London ended the day off by 0.76%.
In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.76% at 6,056 points; in Frankfurt, the DAX 30 down 1.21% at 10,608 points and in Paris, the  CAC 40 down 1.12% at 4,625 points at the close yesterday.
The euro picked up to $1.0845 in foreign exchange deals having fallen heavily Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve raised borrowing costs for the first time in almost a decade.
Europe’s main indices had rallied Thursday after the US central bank ended months of uncertainty surrounding interest rate policy.
“While Wednesday’s Fed rate hike removed one cloud of uncertainty from the markets... speculation about when the next one is likely to occur is not expected to remain too far away,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at trading group CMC Markets UK.
The Fed raised its benchmark federal funds rate, locked near zero since the 2008 financial crisis, by a quarter point to 0.25-0.50%, saying the US economy is growing solidly.
The move highlighted a growing divergence in monetary policy between the US policymakers and their overseas counterparts.
Japan’s central bank yesterday announced an unexpected tweak to its vast stimulus programme, jolting financial markets and pushing the yen into a brief dive.
The European Central Bank and Bank of England are also propping up the eurozone and British economy with billions of dollars’ worth of economic stimulus by buying assets such as bonds.
In Asia, stock markets also fell back yesterday after a two-day rally, with commodity-linked shares again taking a hit.
Tokyo’s main index tumbled 1.9%, hurt also by a stronger yen after the action taken by the Bank of Japan.
Wall Street’s three main markets had already been dragged down Thursday by energy firms as oil prices tanked again.
Yesterday US stocks fell again on worries about the oil slump.
Near mid-day in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.13% at 17,298 points. The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.84%, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.56%.
The US rate rise had sent the greenback rallying on Wednesday and Thursday, making oil more expensive for customers using weaker currencies.
That exacerbated pressure on the black gold, which has plunged about 15% since December 4 when the Opec oil exporters’ group decided not to put a limit on output despite a global glut and anaemic demand.
Next week, investors will be keeping an eye on key US data, including economic growth figures and existing homes sales, after the Fed rate move boosted hopes the world’s top economy was back on track.
“Investors are keen to confirm the health of the US housing market,” Nomura Securities said in a commentary.