Traders on the stock market are rather busy lately. It appears that the stocks in the United States and Asia are registering record highs this week, pleasing investors. However, even though European stocks were also going up until recently, Spain’s problem with Catalonia has driven a wedge in this development and caused European stocks to suffer.
Last weekend Catalonia held a referendum (unapproved by the Spanish authorities) and voted to become independent, something Spain has opposed for many years. To suppress the issue there were violent clashes between civilians and police in the region.
This conflict dragged Spanish stocks down, which in turn affected Europe in general. This could exacerbate later this week if Catalonia actually declares independence.
Meanwhile, stocks in Japan and Hong Kong went up. The United States is preparing for higher stocks too, on account of Trump’s plan to enact a tax cut.
