© Archyde.com. An electronic board displaying the German DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, on Wednesday. Photo: Archyde.com.
(Archyde.com) – European stocks fell at the end of trading for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, affected by investor anxiety amid growing fears of a global recession, but the gains in the health care sector limited losses.
The European index fell 0.6 percent at the end of trading, tracking the impact of the decline in Wall Street stocks following major US banks warned of a possible recession next year.
And the latest rise in stocks, supported by hopes that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) will slow the pace of raising interest rates, faced a test in the past days following the strength of the US economy fueled fears that the central bank would continue its strict policy in raising interest rates for a longer period.
Markets are now awaiting a slew of interest rate decisions, including those from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank next week, to get a clearer picture of the direction of monetary policy.
Energy stocks led the Stoxx 600 index’s losses, falling 2 percent as prices fell following US data showed an unexpectedly large build in fuel stocks, leading to concerns regarding demand in a market already in a state of panic due to the uncertainty of the economy.
Banking sector shares fell for the third consecutive session, which also hurt the Stoxx 600 index.
Government bond yields are at a multi-week low, amid mixed signals regarding when inflation will peak.
A survey showed expectations of an increase in inflation for the next year, but expectations for the next three years indicated that it would remain unchanged at 3 percent, which is much higher than the European Central Bank’s target of 2 percent inflation.
(Prepared by Amira Zahran for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Hassan Ammar)
