Global equities started the second half of the year lower as investors saw no end to the inflation and interest rate pressures that pushed Wall Street to its worst first-half performance for more than half a decade.
The FTSE All World index of developed and emerging market shares fell 0.7 per cent on Friday morning, having declined by a fifth this year. Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 equity gauge opened 0.9 per cent lower, following a 16 per cent drop in the past six months.
Futures trading also implied Wall Street’s S&P 500, which fell by a fifth in the first six months of this year, would notch another 1 per cent decline on Friday. US equities, which set the tone for trading worldwide, have not endured such a punishing first six months of a year since 1970.