Global Stock Indexes Fall Amid Cyber Outage, Dollar Recovers

A global cyber outage caused significant downturns in world stock indexes on Friday, impacting services from airlines to banks and unsettling investors. The dollar rebounded from a two-week slump, supported by strong economic data. Major indexes such as MSCI, STOXX 600, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq Composite saw declines.

Global stock indexes fell sharply on Friday as a widespread cyber outage unsettled investors. The outage impacted services ranging from airlines to banks, further unsettling markets already experiencing turbulence this week.

The cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike dropped 8.2% following an update that disrupted customers using Microsoft's Windows Operating System. This outage troubled various sectors, including the Euronext exchange and the London Stock Exchange Group's Workspace platform, although LSEG later restored its data and services.

'Today's outages remind us that services can have supply chain disruptions too,' commented Jeff Kleintop, Chief Global Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab. The Cboe Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's 'fear gauge,' reached its highest mark since early May.

MSCI's global gauge fell by 4.69 points (0.57%) to 812.76, while the STOXX 600 index declined by 0.76%. In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 337.37 points (0.84%) to 40,327.65. The S&P 500 lost 17.55 points (0.30%) to 5,527.04, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 56.06 points (0.32%) to 17,813.99. U.S. megacaps saw mixed outcomes; Nvidia dipped 1%, but Apple and Alphabet remained broadly positive.

Despite the cloud disruption, Microsoft was down just 0.3%. In currency markets, the dollar index gained 0.17% to 104.32 after hitting a four-month low, boosted by firm economic data. The euro also slipped 0.1% to $1.0885, following the ECB's decision to hold rates but considering cuts in September. U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly, and commodities saw mixed results: U.S. crude fell 1.03% to $81.97 a barrel, and Brent decreased by 0.99% to $84.27 per barrel. Bitcoin increased by 3.01% to $65,740.00, whereas spot gold fell by 1.63% to $2,405.11 an ounce.

(With inputs from agencies.)