European stocks edged lower on Monday as surging oil prices fed inflation concerns and weak data from China kept worries around slowing economic growth alive.
Oil prices hit new multi-year peaks, adding to fears over surging inflation.
Data showed earlier in the day that China’s economy hit its slowest pace of growth in a year in the third quarter, hurt by power shortages, supply chain bottlenecks and major wobbles in the property market.
The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.4 percent to 467.74 after rising 0.7 percent on Friday.
The German DAX dipped 0.4 percent and France’s CAC 40 index shed 0.8 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3 percent.
The British pound sterling touched a 20-month high versus the euro after Bank of England Governor Andrew sent a fresh signal that the central bank is gearing up to raise interest rates for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus crisis.
Shares of Philips Electronics NV were down about 1 percent. The Dutch consumer electronics giant trimmed its outlook for fiscal 2021 after reporting weak EBITA and sales in its third quarter.
BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell were moving lower despite crude futures climbing past $85 a barrel.
British gaming company Playtech soared 55 percent after it agreed a 2.1-billion-pound takeover offer by Australia’s Aristocrat Leisure.
National Grid gained about 1 percent. Ahead of the release of its first-half results on 18 November, the utility said had continued to perform in line with expectations.
Online retailer The Hut Group jumped 11 percent after confirming plans to overhaul its corporate governance.
Valneva shares jumped as much as 37 percent in Paris after the biotech company reported positive Phase 3 results for its inactivated, adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
China-exposed luxury stocks including LVMH and Kering fell around 3 percent after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call to expand a consumption tax.
Business News
European Shares Retreat On Growth Concerns
2021-10-18 09:56:51
