European shares fell on Friday as concerns over potential delays in US interest rate cuts dampened the appetite for risk. However, telecoms helped mitigate the impact.
The STOXX 600 index slipped 0.32% to 504.80 points but still marked its eighth straight week of gains, thanks to positive corporate news and ECB rate cut hopes.
Market confidence grew slightly due to a slowdown in Eurozone inflation, leading some to anticipate an ECB rate cut in June.
Capital Economics’ Andrew Kenningham: ECB to cut deposit rate to 3% by year-end, targeting 2.25% by mid-2025 amid inflation.
Strong US inflation figures this week complicated the Fed‘s policy direction.
The interest rate-sensitive real estate index was Friday’s biggest loser, down 2.0%, and underperformed for the week.
Vodafone’s 5.7% jump propelled the telecom sector up by 1.5%.
In major European markets, London‘s Financial Times index dropped 0.20% to 7,727.42 points. Frankfurt’s DAX edged down 0.03% to 17,936.65 points.
Paris’ CAC-40 slightly rose by 0.04% to 8,164.35 points. Milan’s Ftse/Mib climbed 0.46% to 33,940.03 points.
Madrid’s Ibex-35 increased by 1.02% to 10,597.90 points. Lisbon’s PSI20 went up by 1.24% to 6,130.85 points.
This week’s dynamics show the market’s resilience and sensitivity to monetary policy and inflation expectations.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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