North Korea crisis hits stock market raising fears for pension savings
FEARS of nuclear war between the US and North Korea have hit global stock markets, threatening the pension savings of millions of Britons.
By LANA CLEMENTS
Express.co.uk
Wed, Aug 9, 2017
Britain’s top stock market the FTSE 100 slipped by around 0.6 per cent, as a war of words erupted between US president Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.
And US stock indices the Dow Jones and S&P 500 are down for the second day in a row after the North Korean dictator threatened a missile strike on US bases in Guam.
Pension funds that holds billions of pounds worth of retirement savings are typically invested in the FTSE 100, meaning savers could see values fall amid sell-offs.
At the moment stock falls have not been too dramatic – the bluechip index is at a higher level than it was a week ago.
But if relations between North Korea and the US worsen stock market losses could deepen.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index Direct, said: “Whether or not this event causes a prolonged downturn in risky assets will depend on the next steps in this crisis.
“If the rhetoric from both sides continues to ramp up then we would expect the following to asset prices to struggle: Global Indices, emerging market foreign currencies and peripheral sovereign debt.
“Of course, this could end up being a flash in the pan, so we don’t think that fund managers and traders are going to rush into changing their portfolio allocations just yet, they will want to see how things play out in the coming days.
“However, if the rhetoric does ramp up, even without actual nuclear follow through, this could spook the market and make it hard for stock indices to rally into late summer due to the fears for global trade and global growth.
“The markets are poised for any commentary from the President and Washington regarding North Korea’s threat to attack the US territory of Guam.
“If we see an escalation of the rhetoric then this sell off could be more than a flash in the pan.”
Stock market falls can hit pension values, but savers who are not set to take their savings for a number of years typically don’t need to worry, as losses are usually recouped over the longer term.
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