Global stockmarkets have struggled ahead of the gathering of central bankers and finance ministers at Jackson Hole in the US later today.
Asian markets closed lower, with the Nikkei 225 index in Japan falling 0.3 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite index in China slipped 0.6 per cent. Although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index appeared to buck the trend as it closed slightly higher by 0.02 per cent.
In the US the S&P 500 index dropped 0.5 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 0.4 per cent, ahead of the policy meeting this weekend. Janet Yellen, chair of the US Federal Reserve, is expected to deliver a speech tomorrow entitled: “Designing Resilient Monetary Policy Frameworks for the Future”.
European markets also struggled in early trading with the FTSE 100 index slipping 0.5 per cent to 6,799.44, while the Dax index in Germany has fallen 0.7 per cent.
