PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets opened lower on Thursday, worried about the trajectory of US rates.
In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.55% around 07:45 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax fell 0.55%, against 0.46% for the FTSE in London.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index dropped 0.66%, the EuroStoxx 50 0.54% and the Stoxx 600 0.56%. Futures on New York indices suggest Wall Street opening slightly higher, with the Dow Jones nibbling 0.17%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 is advancing 0.10% and the Nasdaq is stable.
The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting, released on Wednesday, reignited fears that the US central bank will raise rates again in September.
Indeed, Governing Council members continue to see upside risks to inflation, which would warrant further tightening of monetary conditions.
Adding to investor caution, weekly jobless claims data in the United States is due at 12:30 GMT on Thursday. An upside surprise could indeed prompt the Fed to tighten monetary policy further.
In stocks, BAE Systems fell 3.12% after the British defense group said it agreed to buy Ball’s aerospace assets for about $5.55 billion in cash. The European aerospace and defense sector declined by 1.48%.
Dutch payment processor Adyen missed analysts’ estimates and its own first-half profit targets, tumbling 21.03%. Its rival Worldpay fell 4.6% in its wake.
(Writing by Corentin Chapron, editing by Kate Entringer)
Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
