European markets fell on Tuesday as global investors digested the latest U.S. inflation reading and eyed the start of the Federal Reserve policy meeting.
EUROPEAN MARKETS
| TICKER | COMPANY | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .FTSE | FTSE 100 | 7542.77 | -2.12 | -0.03 |
| .GDAXI | DAX | 16791.74 | 0 | 0 |
| .FCHI | CAC 40 Index | 7543.55 | 0 | 0 |
| .FTMIB | FTSE MIB | 30342.15 | -84.43 | -0.28 |
| .IBEX | IBEX 35 Idx | 10118.7 | 0 | 0 |
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed 0.23% lower, with the oil and gas sector losing 1.28%.
Meanwhile in the U.S., the closely-watched consumer price index rose 0.1% in November and 3.1% from a year ago. Economists had been expecting no gain and a yearly rate of 3.1%, according to a Dow Jones survey.
The data comes as the U.S. Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day meeting, where it will mull over its latest interest rate policy and issue economic projections.
Asia-Pacific markets edged higher Tuesday, with Japan stocks leading gains for a second straight session. U.S. stocks were higher in morning trade after the inflation data.
Europe stocks close lower
European stocks closed lower Tuesday, with the Stoxx 600 index dipping 0.23%.
Major bourses finished in the red, with France’s CAC 40 down 0.11% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX slightly below the flatline.
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Shares of Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services jumped more than 9% by early afternoon after Bank of America upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral” on the back of a promising recovery and union agreement.
Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell shares sink as UK regulator warns on charges
British investment platforms Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell saw their shares plunge on Tuesday after a U.K. regulator warned 42 firms that it may intervene on fees and interest charges.
Hargreaves Lansdown shares were down more than 7% by early afternoon trade, while AJ Bell fell more than 6% after the Financial Conduct Authority announced it had written to investment platforms with concerns over the way they deal with interest earned on customers’ cash balances.
European stocks give back slight gains
European markets gave back the morning’s cautious gains by noon to hover just below the flatline.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.1% with telecoms shedding 0.7% to lead losses while media stocks added 0.5%.
U.K. regular wages grew at an annual 7.3% in November, down from 7.8% the previous month — welcome news for the Bank of England ahead of its monetary policy decision on Thursday.
Job vacancies fell once again in the three months to the end of November and are now down 27% from their peak, though remain above pre-pandemic levels, while the unemployment rate was stable at 4.2%.
Stuart Cole, chief macro economist at Equiti Capital, said the latest round of data was good news for the central bank in its battle to bring inflation sustainably back to its 2% target, but the labor market remained “too strong overall to suggest that monetary policy will start to be eased any time soon.”
“With the growth figures to be published tomorrow expected to show output falling by 0.1% in October and core annual CPI still nearly three times above target, the pulls on monetary policy continue to be coming from opposite directions,” Cole said in an email.
“Overall it likely leaves the BoE at this week’s meeting in something of an impasse, forced to continue resisting pressure to lower rates in support of a slowing economy and choosing instead to keep policy tight as it struggles to bring CPI and wages growth back under control.”
Source : CNBC