© Reuters.
Investing.com – European stock markets fell on Tuesday, as investors worried about slowing global growth and future central bank policy decisions.
At 03:15 ET (07:15 GMT), the index in Germany was down 0.1%, in France it was down 0.2% and in the UK it was down 0.1%.
Data released earlier in the session showed an unexpected drop of 0.4% in April, illustrating the bleak outlook for Europe’s largest economy after it endured its first recession since the pandemic over the winter.
The final indicator, seen as a good measure of overall economic health, released on Monday, showed that business activity in the eurozone was boosted last month by the bloc’s dominant industry to offset a growing downturn in the sector.
Across the pond, US sector activity barely grew in May, suggesting that recent strong growth in this important sector may now lose steam in the face of rising interest rates and soaring inflation.
Markets are increasingly looking to halt rate hikes next week, but it still appears to be months away from taking that approach with inflation remaining a major issue.
On Monday, the president reinforced expectations for more rate hikes – the European Central Bank also meets next week – by saying it was too soon for a peak despite “signs of moderation”.
It raised interest rates by 25 basis points overnight, warning that it remains too high in the country and that further policy tightening may still be in progress this year.
In corporate news, GSK (LON::) rose 0.3% after the pharmaceutical giant’s cancer drug, Jemperli, received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its use.
Associated British Foods (LON:) fell 0.2% after owner Primark, as well as a number of food and ingredient companies, said it would buy dairy technology company National Milk Records for £48m (£1 = $1.2441) to boost its food unit. agricultural.
Lacqla (LON:) shares rose 0.8% after the tobacco group stuck to its annual revenue and profit forecasts, betting on steady demand for oral nicotine and vaping products.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday, retracing some of the previous session’s sharp gains as traders turned their attention back to the weak US economic backdrop following Saudi production cuts.
By 03:15 ET, futures were down 1.3% at $71.19 a barrel, while the contract was down 1.2% at $75.81.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter, pledged over the weekend to cut an additional nearly 1 million barrels per day from July compared to its production levels in May, in an attempt to boost falling crude prices.
In addition, it rose 0.1% to $1,976.05 an ounce, while it was trading 0.1% higher at 1.0723.