European stocks fell on Friday, marking the pan-European benchmark STOXX 600’s eighth consecutive session of losses.
STOXX 600 index fell 0.6%, putting it on course for its most prolonged loss run since November 2016.
Experts attributed the decline to investors’ nervousness over the trajectory of US interest rates and a bleak outlook for the European economy. Meanwhile, weak data from Europe and China has sparked worries about the global economy’s well-being.
Despite the weak data, inflation worries and hawkish comments from European Central Bank officials have prompted money markets to raise their expectations for an additional rate hike in the upcoming policy decision next week.
Traders have priced in an around 40% chance of a 25-basis-point (bps) hike, up from 20% last week.
US inflation figures are slated for next week’s release just before the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later this month. Market sentiment indicated that policymakers will maintain the current interest rates.
STMicroelectronics saw a 0.8% decline as the semiconductor stock selloff persisted due to concerns about China’s potential restrictions on Apple’s iPhones.
In the UK, shares of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund, the owner of copyrights for renowned artists like the Beatles, surged by 64% following a $496 million acquisition proposal from Alchemy Copyrights.
Computacenter jumped 6.5% after the IT service provider said its half-year adjusted profit before tax rose 8.8%.
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