During Wednesday trading session, European stock indexes are falling: investors avoid risky assets, including stocks, due to the worsening situation around North Korea, writes MarketWatch.
The consolidated index of the largest enterprises of the Stoxx Europe 600 region decreased during trading by 0.6% to 380.36 points.
French CAC 40 lost 1.2%, German DAX fell 0.9%, and British FTSE 100 lost 0.6%.
The Telegraph Agency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea said that the possibility of a missile strike at US military bases on the island of Guam is being considered. US President Donald Trump, in turn, warned Pyongyang that he could face "fire and fury" from the US, if he continues to threaten the country.
"The reaction of financial markets was an increase in demand for assets of the "quiet harbor "- the yield of US Treasuries fell, gold rose in price, and the yen strengthened," said Richard Perry, analyst at Hantec Markets.
"Equity markets also came under pressure," the expert said. "However, market movements caused by geopolitical factors usually do not last long and quickly come to naught."
Shares of gold mining companies Randgold Resources and Fresnillo (LON: FRES) went up by 2.2% and 2.5% respectively, following the gold price rise of about 1%.
The sub-index of chemical companies Stoxx 600 Chemicals fell 1.2% on the disappointing quarterly reports of Brenntag AG and Symrise AG, the share price of which fell 6.1% and 4%, respectively.
The share price of the British G4S Plc, a provider of security services, fell 5.3%, despite strong company reporting for the first half.
The cost of Worldpay shares, the operator of the largest UK payment system, increased by 0.3%. Worldpay accepted the updated offer of the American processing company Vantiv Inc., which estimated it at 9.3 billion pounds ($ 12.1 billion).
The share price of Novo Nordisk soared 5.9%. The Danish pharmaceutical company raised its forecast for revenue growth for the current year to 1-3% from the expected 0-3%, and also improved the forecast for operating profit.
Statistics, published today, pointed to an increase in the growth of industrial production in Italy in June. According to Istat statistics, the volume of industrial production in Italy jumped by 1.1% compared to May, when growth was 2.7%. The rate of increase in industrial production in the country in annual terms accelerated to 5.3% from 2.7%.