Low oil price weighs on global stock markets
Source: AP
LONDON (AP) — Global stock markets fell sharply Tuesday as oil prices remained near six-and-a-half year lows following last week's decision by the OPEC oil cartel to leave production unchanged.
KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Germany's DAX fell 1.2 percent to 10,750 while the CAC-40 in France was 1.2 percent lower at 4,701. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.9 percent at 4,698. U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures both 0.7 percent lower.
OIL SLUMP: Last week's decision by OPEC to maintain production levels has hit oil prices hard over the past two trading sessions. On Tuesday, oil prices recouped some losses but still remain near their lowest levels since early 2009, when the world economy was in its deepest recession since World War II. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 60 cents at $41.33 per barrel in London after plunging $2.27 on Monday. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 28 cents to trade at $37.93 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $1.32 on Monday.
OIL STOCKS: Shares in oil companies have suffered as traders price in the prospect of lower future earnings and the impact it will have on production plans — low oil prices make many projects uneconomic. Among the fallers were Britain's BP, which was down 1.5 percent, and France's Total, which dropped 1.8 percent.
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A man uses his mobile phone next to an electronic screen showing the Hang Seng index outside a bank in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. Asian stock markets fell Tuesday after a decline in oil prices to a six-year low pushed down Wall Street. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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