European stocks held firm near record highs on Monday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sounded more cautious than other Fed officials when talking about tapering.
Powell signaled the central bank is likely to begin tapering some of its easy-money policies before the end of the year but there’s “much ground to cover” before rate hikes happen.
The upside, however, remained capped after the Wall Street Journal reported that Beijing is looking at new rules that would restrict domestic internet firms from going public in the U.S.
In economic releases, Eurozone business and household confidence declined slightly in August, following July’s record high, the European Commission said.
The economic sentiment indicator, an aggregate measure of business and consumer confidence, dropped to 117.5 in August from 119.0 in July.
Focus now shifts to August inflation data for Germany due later in the day ahead of next week’s meeting of European Central Bank policymakers.
ECB chief Christine Lagarde last month promised sustained support for the single currency zone, saying the central bank has learned from the errors of past crises and won’t derail the current economic recovery by withdrawing emergency support too early.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was up 0.1 percent at 472.83 after rising 0.4 percent on Friday. The German DAX and France’s CAC 40 index both edged up around 0.2 percent, while U.K. markets remain closed for a bank holiday.
European Shares Hold Steady In Holiday-thinned Trade
2021-08-30 09:43:22
