European Shares Decline On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks were moving lower on Wednesday, with banks and miners leading losses on fears that central bank moves to fight inflation would spark a recession.

Investors await key U.S. inflation data later in the day for clues on the outcome of the Fed's upcoming policy meeting.

Data showed earlier in the day that Eurozone industrial production rose 0.8 percent sequentially in May, well above expectation for a 0.2 percent increase.

The British pound appreciated against its major rivals after data showed that the U.K. economy expanded faster than expected in May.

U.K. GDP rose 0.5 percent on month in May, after a revised decline of 0.2 percent in April. Economists had expected a growth of 0.1 percent.

The pan European Stoxx 600 was down 0.6 percent at 414.46 after gaining half a percent on Tuesday.

The German DAX dropped 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 index slipped 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.6 percent.

Italian insurance company Assicurazioni Generali fell about 1 percent. The company said it has achieved the threshold of 95 percent share capital of Società Cattolica di Assicurazione S.p.A., to allow Generali to purchase the remaining shares.

Finnish drug maker Orion surged 7.7 percent after raising its full-year outlook. Credit Suisse gave up almost 2 percent after the Swiss lender postponed the initial public offering of its real-estate fund 1a Immo PK due to market conditions.

SAS soared 11.6 percent on reports that the embattled Scandinavian airline and unions representing pilots on strike will resume talks today in a bid to end the dispute which started on July 4.

J D Wetherspoon shares slumped more than 8 percent in London after the pub chain warned it will plunge to an annual loss for the third year running.

Concurrent Technologies jumped 7.4 percent after the manufacturer of high-end embedded computer boards for critical applications said it has entered into a supply agreement with a Fortune 500 global medical technology company.

Miner and trader Glencore declined 1 percent after completing the sale of a royalty package to Sandstorm Gold Ltd.

Oil & gas exploration firm Tullow Oil fell over 1 percent despite backing its FY production outlook.

Shares of power group EDF were suspended in Paris amid plans for its nationalization. Gerresheimer AG, a maker of medical packaging products, jumped 5.4 percent after confirming its FY22 view.