European Shares Broadly Lower Amid Inflation Fears

European stocks fell broadly on Monday as investors fretted over the threat to growth from the Russia-Ukraine war, high inflation and rising interest rates.

French stocks bucked the weak trend after Emmanuel Macron won the first round of the French presidential election on Sunday night.

The pan European Stoxx 600 was down half a percent at 458.67 after rallying 1.3 percent on Friday.

The German DAX dropped 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent while France’s CAC 40 was rising 0.4 percent.

The European Central Bank is set to hold its latest policy-setting meeting on Thursday. Amid record-high inflation, investors are waiting to see whether policymakers will issue any guidance on future monetary policy.

The ECB’s dilemma has been complicated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow.

It’s also believed that China’s worst Covid outbreak may lead to delays and higher prices, which could stall recovery and further add to global inflation.

Voestalpine AG shares advanced 1.3 percent. The Austrian steel firm said that it is in advanced stage of negotiations with an unnamed party to sell its 80 percent shares in Voestalpine Texas LLC.

Sirius Real Estate advanced 1.3 percent. While providing a pre-close trading update for the year to 31 March 2022, the British investment firm said its Group trading for the period is expected to be in line with market expectations.

Mothercare, a retailer specialized in products for expectant mothers, tumbled 3.2 percent. The company said in a pre-close trading update that it expects its earnings for the fiscal 2022 are ahead of the current market expectations.

Societe Generale jumped as much as 6 percent after saying it would cease its banking and insurance activities in Russia.

The French bank has agreed to sell its stake in Rosbank and the Russian lender’s insurance subsidiaries to Interros Capital, a firm linked to billionaire Vladimir Potanin.

Rheinmetall AG shares soared 5.8 percent. The German defense company said the British armed forces had ordered a further 100 Boxer armored vehicles.

In economic releases, U.K. GDP grew 0.1 percent month-on-month, much slower than the 0.8 percent increase in January, the Office for National Statistics said. This was also weaker than the expected growth of 0.3 percent.

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