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12:56 p.m. Turkey appears to be preparing to invade northeast Syria after the U.S. pulls out—and its stock market and currency are paying the price.
According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. soldiers have started leaving the border between Syria and Turkey, where they had been stationed. As a result, a conflict between Turkey and the region’s Kurds is almost assured.
“The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so,” President Donald Trump said in a series of tweets. “They have been fighting Turkey for decades. I held off this fight for almost 3 years, but it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars.”
The idea of an invasion hasn’t been greeted fondly by the markets. The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index fell 0.5%, while the iShares MSCI Turkey ETF (ticker: TUR) has slumped 3.3% to $25.44. Turkey’s lira has dropped 2.1% against the dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 11.88 points at 26,561.84.
The iShares MSCI Turkey ETF has risen 3.4% in 2019 after dropping 43% in 2018.
Markets Now is a quick take on what’s happening with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major market indexes. Don’t forget to check out the rest of Barron’s markets coverage.
Write to Ben Levisohn at Ben.Levisohn@barrons.com