European stocks look set to open on a sluggish note Thursday, as investors fret over the impact of the prolonged Ukraine-Russia war, higher interest rates and China’s zero-COVID policy on global growth.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said Wednesday that the Fed aims to reach a neutral rate — the rate at which the economy is stable — sooner rather than later, according to Bloomberg Television.
He expects the U.S. central bank to hike short-term interest rates by 50 basis points at the upcoming June meeting “and probably thereafter.”
Asian markets followed Wall Street lower while gold traded flat amid a steady U.S. dollar and elevated Treasury yields.
Oil prices rose over 1 percent in Asian trade, after having fallen around 2.5 percent in the overnight U.S. trading session on demand concerns.
U.S. stocks suffered their sharpest fall in almost two years on Wednesday, as weak housing data and a series of disappointing quarterly results from some major retailers added to fears of a recession.
The Dow tumbled 3.6 percent and the S&P 500 lost 4 percent to close at their lowest levels in over a year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plummeted as much as 4.7 percent.
European stocks also closed lower on Wednesday as Britain’s inflation rate hit a 40-year high and ECB policymaker Klaas Knot said that a 50-basis-point rate hike in July was possible.
The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 1.1 percent. The German DAX declined 1.3 percent, France’s CAC 40 index shed 1.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gave up 1.1 percent.
Business News
European Shares Set For Sluggish Start As Global Growth Worries Mount
2022-05-19 05:21:17
