The downgrade of the US rating triggered the spread of risk aversion, and European stocks opened sharply lower

European shares opened sharply lower as Fitch’s downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating sparked a broad risk-off trade, while positive earnings barely offset the negative sentiment.

Fitch has axed the United States’ top sovereign credit rating after the rating agency criticized its ballooning fiscal deficit and “deteriorating governance issues” that have led to repeated debt-ceiling conflicts over the past two decades.

“The U.S. may just be the first country to get downgraded, and we may see other countries get downgraded because high debt is a common problem for many countries, but for the U.S., I don’t think it will have an economic impact. significant impact,” said Alfonso Benito, chief investment officer at Dunas Capital.