Elections Continue to Weigh on Europe

Shares in Europe finished lower yesterday as the race for US president intensified and investors reacted to a falloff in oil prices. The was also the Federal Reserve announcement which left rates as is but indicated, strongly a rate hike in December.

The banking sector was the worst performer on the day, falling over two percent. Italian banks were under heavy selling pressure as reports surfaced that the Italian government would delay an upcoming referendum on constitutional reform.

These reports were denied by the prime minister’s office. Shares of Banco Poplare tumbled over seven percent and Banca Popilari di Milano also took a big hit.

US Elections continue to weigh on Sentiment in Europe

Investors are reconsidering bets that Clinton will win as polls are turning against here in key battleground states as well as national polls. The gap is narrow to Trump being in the lead. This uncertainty is pushing global markets lower. A Trump win is perceived as bad for the financial world.

Clinton is being dogged by new allegations of email scandals. Her campaign is asking the FBI to disclose information about their investigation. She is also tying the FBI, Trump and Russia as t acting together to unseat her chances at winning.

Looking at corporate earnings, Germany’s Lufthansa reported earnings fell 6.5 percent in the third quarter. Shares of the airline fell 2.5 percent by close of trading. Hugo Boss also reported a drop in third quarter profits but numbers were better-than-expected. This sent shares up 4.2 percent. Persimmon saw its second half operating margin improving. Private sales rose 19 percent.

The world’s largest shipping company, Moller-Maersk Group saw a fall in third quarter profits. Profits were down 16 percent. Shares dropped nine percent at the break of the news to only close 7.1 percent lower.