Staff Report
Global equity markets came under pressure as a wave of rioting in France and Saudi Arabia’s abrupt cancellation of its flagship investment conference combined to unsettle investors already on edge over debt concerns in Europe.
French authorities imposed curfews on major cities after several nights of rioting and looting in Paris, with unrest also spreading to Milan, deepening fears that political instability in France could compound the country’s fiscal troubles.
Commerzbank strategist Christoph Rieger said the latest market moves point to something broader than a France-specific problem, describing early signs of “a global, not just French debt crisis” taking shape as investors reassess risk across European sovereign debt.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 slipped 0.34% in early trading while the UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.54% before midday, as the selloff rippled across regional indexes.
Saudi Arabia separately canceled this year's Future Investment Initiative conference, often dubbed "Davos in the Desert," after a series of Houthi attacks on the kingdom, including a deadly missile strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. The October 26-29 event, which was set to feature Wall Street figures including JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, Citigroup's Jane Fraser, Goldman Sachs' David Solomon and BlackRock's Larry Fink, has been pushed to an undisclosed date in 2027.
The twin developments, unrest in a major European economy and a scrapped marquee event in the Gulf, added to a mood of caution among investors already navigating a stretch of heightened geopolitical risk, with markets likely to stay sensitive to further headlines out of both regions in the days ahead.
