Global Stock Markets Fall Amid Global Internet Outage

Stock markets worldwide declined on Friday, July 19, with investors taking a cautious approach as a global technology outage affected numerous companies and caused significant disruptions. Microsoft, a tech giant, announced that it was taking “mitigation measures” after a technical issue hit several businesses.

Notable companies affected by the outage include the Berlin International Airport, all Spanish airports, several airlines, Britain’s largest railway operator, and Australian businesses.

The London and Milan stock exchanges did not open at their usual hour of 07:00 GMT, instead starting to trade about 20 minutes late.

By 07:40 GMT, the London market had fallen 0.79%, Paris had dropped 0.73%, Frankfurt had declined 0.86%, and Milan had slipped 0.77%.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) reported on its website that it was investigating “technical problems” affecting its information dissemination system.

Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, also fell 2.19%.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei index dropped 0.16%, while Hong Kong declined 2.06% and Shanghai edged up 0.17%.

No concrete solution to support the Chinese economy emerged from the Communist Party’s central committee meeting, known as the “Third Plenum,” which took place this week.

Concerns over the semiconductor sector, including potential new US restrictions on China, continued to weigh on markets.

Technology stocks in Asia fell on Friday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slowed by a general decline in the technology sector.

On Thursday, July 18, the New York Stock Exchange closed sharply lower, with investors fleeing megacapitalizations as uncertainty over American politics began to weigh in.

Markets had been hoping for a Donald Trump victory in November’s presidential election since his assassination attempt over the weekend.

Now, investors are looking anxiously at the uncertainty surrounding President Joe Biden’s re-election bid.

Source: Defi Media