European Shares Drift Lower On Interest-rate Concerns

(RTTNews) - European stocks were deep in the red on Thursday, the dollar hit a 6-1/2 month high and Eurozone bond yields reached multi-month highs after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled policy would remain restrictive for longer to curb stubborn inflation.

Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank held rates unchanged earlier today, but warned that more increases may still be needed.

Sweden's Riksbank has raised borrowing costs by a quarter point and said it might need to do more to bring inflation back to its 2 percent target.

Norway's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points and indicated another rate hike in December to curb inflation.

The Bank of England will announce its rate decision later today, with most economists expecting the central bank to deliver another 25- bps hike, lifting interest rate to 5.50 percent.

The pan European STOXX 600 was down 0.9 percent at 456.67 after gaining 0.9 percent on Wednesday.

The German DAX gave up 0.8 percent, France's CAC 40 fell 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.6 percent.

Commodity stocks drifted lower as metal and crude prices weakened on a stronger dollar amid uncertainty about the Fed's rate trajectory.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore fell 1-2 percent while oil & gas giant BP Plc dropped 1.2 percent and Shell shed 0.7 percent.

Essentra gained about 1 percent. The maker of plastic and fiber products announced the acquisition of BMP s.r.l or BMP TAPPI, an Italian family-owned manufacturer of protective caps and plugs, for an initial cash consideration of 33.5 million euros.

Next rallied 2.6 percent after the fashion retailer lifted its profit forecast for the third time in recent months.

Electrolux fell 2.5 percent. The Swedish home appliance major has agreed to divest its manufacturing facility in Memphis, Tennessee, USA to a US-based investment company for $61 million or around 675 million Swedish kronor in cash.

Dutch lender ABN AMRO gave up 1 percent after saying it plans to appoint Ton van Nimwegen as its chief operations officer and member of the executive board for a term of four years.

French retailer Casino Group plunged 10 percent after presenting its updated 2024-2028 business plan.

Vaccine maker Valneva tumbled 3.1 percent after posting a half-year loss.

Delivery Hero SE shares rose about 1 percent after the German online food delivery company confirmed negotiations regarding a potential sale of its foodpanda business in selected Southeast Asia markets.