Europe gives up its Thursday gains

There has been a revival of tensions about banking stocks this afternoon, causing stock markets to go into reverse, says Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.

Stocks drop further on banking worries

“Hopes that the banking crisis would continue to fade have themselves grown weaker, as stocks fell again, reversing much of yesterday’s move higher. Credit Suisse continues to be the bugbear for Europe, while in the US First Republic worries are still the main driver of losses. This week has been a liquidity crisis, but it seems that the moves by authorities to remedy the situation have not completely reassured wary investors.”

ECB hawks bolster the euro

“Risk appetite had been reviving on the hope that central banks might be easing off the gas pedal around rate hikes, but it looks like the post-ECB consensus is breaking down. Markets would rather see central banks pause for now, in order to let the chaos subside. Next week’s Fed meeting will be a key test for this.”