World equities shaken by Bhutto killing

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2007

LONDON (AFP) — Global stock markets fell Friday as the murder of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto reverberated around the world, while investors took profits before the year-end.

European equities sank, mirroring losses earlier in Asia and overnight on Wall Street, as Bhutto's assassination, together with weak US economic data, sent nervous investors fleeing to safe haven investments.

Bhutto's death on Thursday in Pakistan has raised geopolitical concerns about stability in the nuclear-armed country.

Investor sentiment was subdued in Frankfurt on Friday, which was the final trading day of 2007. However, London and Paris re-open next Monday for a shortened session before a public holiday on Tuesday, January 1, 2008.

Later Friday, Wall Street...