European shares steady as rate jitters weigh, firm pound drags FTSE 100 down
Euro zone saw winter recession, more challenges ahead
Evotec tops STOXX 600 after Citigroup upgrade
Telecoms dragged by Vodafone shares
STOXX 600 flat, FTSE 100 down 0.3%
Updates to close at 1600 GMT; adds comment
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Bansari Mayur Kamdar
June 8 (Reuters) -European shares were subdued on Thursday as rate-sensitive technology shares and consumer staples slippedon expectations of further interest rate hikes by major central banks, while a sharp slide in Vodafone shares weighed on the telecoms sector.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was flat, with the rate-sensitive technologysector .SX8P down 0.3%.
Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE led losses among regional peers, with export-heavy consumer staples such as Unilever ULVR.L and Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC RKT.L under pressure as thepound GBP= rallied near 0.9% on expectations of more interest rate hikes by the Bank of England after a forecast showed UK inflation is set to remain elevated this year.
The euro zone economy fell into a technical recession in the first quarter, data showed.
Fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve could opt for a hawkish stance in its meeting next week and expectations that the European Central Bank will continue to tighten its monetary policy weighed on stocks.
This sentiment comes after the Bank of Canada hiked its overnight rate to a 22-year high of 4.75% on Wednesday and markets and analysts immediately forecast yet another increase next month.
Money market participants now see a 74.7% chance that the Fed will skip raising interest rates in its June meeting but will hike in July. For the ECB, traders see about a 96.3% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike next week.
"A 25 bps interest rate rise next week (by ECB), taking the deposit rate to 3.5%, looks like a done deal," said Jack Allen-Reynolds, deputy chief euro zone economist at Capital Economics, in a note.
"We think that the ECB will also hint at a likely 25 bps increase at the meeting in July and will emphasise that policy will remain restrictive for an extended period of time."
Telecoms .SXKP shed 1.1%, ledby Vodafone's VOD.L 5.5% drop after hitting a one-week high on Wednesday, as Reuters reported that the company and Hutchison 0001.HK are in the final stages of a merger agreement for their British operations. Vodafone shares traded ex-dividend on Thursday.
Limiting losses on STOXX 600, miners .SXPP and energy stocks .SXEP gained 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively, tracking firm commodity prices.
German biotech company Evotec EVTG.DE jumped 8.4% to the top of the STOXX 600 after Citigroup upgradedthe stock to "buy" from "neutral", citing anattractive outlook.
Sweden-based SBB SBBb.STdropped 11.7% after S&P downgraded the stock. Also weighing on the crisis-hit real estate firm, Swedish televisionreported Sweden's government will evaluate whether the sale of some properties owned by the company could have national security implications.
Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Janane Venkatraman and Richard Chang
Activos relacionados
Últimas noticias
Descargo de responsabilidades: Cada una de las entidades de XM Group proporciona un servicio de solo ejecución y acceso a nuestra plataforma de trading online, permitiendo a una persona ver o usar el contenido disponible en o a través del sitio web, sin intención de cambiarlo ni ampliarlo. Dicho acceso y uso están sujetos en todo momento a: (i) Términos y Condiciones; (ii) Advertencias de riesgo; y (iii) Descargo completo de responsabilidades. Por lo tanto, dicho contenido se proporciona exclusivamente como información general. En particular, por favor tenga en cuenta que, los contenidos de nuestra plataforma de trading online no son ni solicitud ni una oferta para entrar a realizar transacciones en los mercados financieros. Operar en cualquier mercado financiero implica un nivel de riesgo significativo para su capital.
Todo el material publicado en nuestra plataforma de trading online tiene únicamente fines educativos/informativos y no contiene –y no debe considerarse que contenga– asesoramiento ni recomendaciones financieras, tributarias o de inversión, ni un registro de nuestros precios de trading, ni una oferta ni solicitud de transacción con instrumentos financieros ni promociones financieras no solicitadas.
Cualquier contenido de terceros, así como el contenido preparado por XM, como por ejemplo opiniones, noticias, investigaciones, análisis, precios, otras informaciones o enlaces a sitios de terceros que figuran en este sitio web se proporcionan “tal cual”, como comentarios generales del mercado y no constituyen un asesoramiento en materia de inversión. En la medida en que cualquier contenido se interprete como investigación de inversión, usted debe tener en cuenta y aceptar que dicho contenido no fue concebido ni elaborado de acuerdo con los requisitos legales diseñados para promover la independencia en materia de investigación de inversiones y, por tanto, se considera como una comunicación comercial en virtud de las leyes y regulaciones pertinentes. Por favor, asegúrese de haber leído y comprendido nuestro Aviso sobre investigación de inversión no independiente y advertencia de riesgo en relación con la información anterior, al que se puede acceder aquí.
