US rating cut continues to topple global mkts

Beijing Global stock markets and Wall Street futures declined on Thursday after Fitch Ratings cut the US government’s credit rating. London and Paris opened lower. Tokyo lost 1.7 per cent and Hong Kong also declined. Shanghai advanced. Oil prices retreated. Wall Street turned in its biggest one-day decline in months Wednesday after Fitch Ratings lowered the US government credit rating by one level. The agency cited rising debt and a “steady deterioration in standards of governance” after Congress pushed Washington close to defaulting before agreeing to raise the amount it can borrow. “This is largely irrelevant despite some initial shock,” Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at investment management company Invesco, said in a report, noting that this makes the US rating more consistent with other major economies.