Global Market Report - March 28, 2018

Asia

Tuesday’s US-driven rally proved shortlived with an abrupt reversal in Asia-Pacific markets after Wall Street turned negative. US technology firms again provided the spur for a global selloff, with high-profile names such as Facebook (FB) and Tesla (TSLA) falling sharply. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, with its technology slant, fell the hardest among Asian exchanges, losing around 2.5% on the day – star listing Tencent (00700), which has risen sharply in recent years, was off nearly 5%. China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen indices were down by more than 1% on Tuesday’s close. Japan joined in the global selloff despite a dip in the yen that usually triggers a rise in the Nikkei 225 and Topix indices.

Europe

Markets in Europe could not escape the global downbeat mood, and ahead of the Easter break most exchanges were off around 1%. Having broken back through 7,000 points with ease on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 dropped back below this key trading level today. Giant investment trust Scottish Mortgage (SMT) was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 as its tech focus was out of favour with investors this week.

Classic defensive shares like utilities and pharmaceutical companies were close to the top of the leaderboard as most FTSE 100 stocks found themselves in the red. Biotechnology-focused Shire (SHP) was one of the biggest risers in a falling market on press reports of a possible takeover bid from Japan’s Takeda.