HONG KONG (AP) – Most world stock indexes fell Friday while oil prices rose after the U.S. fired missiles at Syria during President Donald Trump’s first meeting with China’s president, leaving investors on edge.
KEEPING SCORE: European shares retreated in early trading. France’s CAC 40 shed 0.4 percent to 5,100.17 and Germany’s DAX lost 0.6 percent to 12,159.15. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat at 7,305.09. U.S. benchmarks were poised to open lower. Dow futures dipped 0.1 percent to 20,593.00 and broader S&P 500 futures fell 0.2 percent to 2,350.20.
AIRSTRIKES: U.S. warships fired about 60 cruise missiles at a Syrian government-controlled air base in retaliation for a horrific chemical attack against civilians. The attack was a reversal for Trump, who had previously warned against involvement in the Syrian war but now says it is in the “vital national security interest” of the United States.
ENERGY: Oil prices jumped on concerns the airstrikes would reignite Middle East turmoil. U.S. benchmark crude added 83 cents to a one-month high of $52.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 55 cents, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $51.70 a barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 77 cents to $55.66 a barrel in London.
MARKET VIEW: “All of this adds up to potential turmoil in the world and also to potential supply disruptions to crude which have reacted as expected and moved materially higher,” Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a commentary.