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On Friday, Wall Street followed the downward trend of the FTSE 100 (FTSE) and other European markets as leading banks, media outlets, and airlines globally faced significant IT disruptions. A major outage, linked to Microsoft (MSFT), resulted in widespread service interruptions across various sectors. The tech giant announced it was taking "mitigation actions" to address the issue, which affected users' access to apps and services. The problem is believed to be connected to an incident at global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD).
CrowdStrike saw a sharp decline in its stock price, plunging by as much as 15% in New York, marking a two-month low and erasing $12.2bn (£9.5bn) from its market value. The outage had far-reaching consequences, significantly disrupting operations in several industries.
Airlines and airports around the world were heavily impacted, with delays and cancellations as systems went offline. In the financial sector, the London Stock Exchange Group’s platform experienced issues, adding to the day’s market turmoil. Rail transport was also affected, particularly in the UK. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), the parent company of Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express, and Great Northern, issued warnings to passengers about expected disruptions, using social media channels to communicate the challenges.
The London Stock Exchange's benchmark index, the FTSE 100, ended the day 0.7% lower as the market responded to the ongoing IT issues. Germany's DAX (GDAXI) fell by 0.9%, while the CAC (FCHI) in Paris also slipped by 0.7%. The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX) closed down 0.8%, reflecting the broad impact of the outages across the continent.
Across the Atlantic, Wall Street opened lower as the global IT chaos continued to weigh on market sentiment. The ripple effect of the disruptions was felt across various sectors, highlighting the vulnerability of global markets to technological failures.
In currency markets, the British pound weakened slightly against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X), falling by 0.2% to 1.2917. The decline in sterling mirrored the broader unease in financial markets, as the combination of IT outages and market reactions contributed to a challenging day for global economies. The interconnected nature of today’s digital infrastructure was starkly underscored by the widespread disruptions, impacting everything from stock exchanges to travel networks, and leading to significant volatility in financial markets worldwide.
