European Stocks Close Sharply Lower
European stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday, aligned with losses for equity markets across the globe due to the hawkish signals laid by the Fed following yesterday’s close.
The STOXX dropped 1.6% to close at 4,876 and the pan-European STOXX 600 sank 1.5% to close at 506. The US central bank lowered its funds rate by 25bps, as expected, but halved its projections for cuts next year to trigger aggressive selling pressure for riskier assets across all markets with exposure to the US economy.
Tech and industrials were among the sharpest losers for equities in the Eurozone, with ASML, Infineon, Siemens, and Schneider dropping between 5% and 2.5%.
In turn, UniCredit and Santander dropped over 1% each to set the pace for banks. Monetary policy decisions were also key in Europe, with the BoE delivering dovish signals following its rate hold and the Swedish Riksbanken cutting its key rate.
Source: Trading Economics
