European Shares Decline After Powell Nomination

European stocks tumbled on Tuesday as Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s nomination provided a little bit more legitimacy to market pricing in terms of policy tightening next year.

Traders also ramped up their bets on an ECB rate hike next year after ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau, said on Monday that the central bank is “serious” about ending its emergency bond-buying program in March and may not need to expand regular asset purchases to cover the shortfall.

Separately, board member Isabel Schnabel said today that the risks to inflation are skewed to the upside and that plans to end pandemic emergency bond buys remain valid.

Amid renewed fears around Covid-19, investors ignored better-than-expected business activity readings from the region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 1.2 percent to 479.60 after closing 0.1 percent lower on Monday.

The German DAX dropped 1.1 percent and France’s CAC 40 index shed 0.9 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent.

Swiss chemicals group Clariant AG gave up 1.2 percent after it set out new mid-term targets.

British medical technology company Smith & Nephew dropped 1.3 percent after announcing the launch of CORI handheld robotics, an advanced system for both total and partial knee arthroplasties.

Telecom Plus, the supplier of utility services, jumped 6.6 percent after backing its FY 2022 guidance.

Foodservice company Compass Group rose nearly 2 percent as it reported an increase in pretax profit for fiscal 2021.

French telecom company Orange SA was moving higher. Its subsidiary Orange Belgium announced it was selected by Nethys to enter into exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of 75 percent of the capital minus one share of VOO SA.

German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp plunged 7 percent on news that Swedish activist fund Cevian is placing a 6.9 percent stake in the firm.

Utility E.ON tumbled 3.6 percent after it announced new financial earnings and growth targets for its core businesses until 2026.

Aareal Bank jumped 3.5 percent as U.S.-based companies Advent International and Centerbridge Partners floated plans to launch a takeover offer for the German commercial real estate lender.

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