European Shares Decline On Uncertainty Over Rate Cuts

(RTTNews) - European stocks fell broadly on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions persisted and two more Federal Reserve officials have warned that it's premature to consider cutting interest rates.

However, former Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that he's expecting three interest-rate cuts this year and that's the base case.

U.S. inflation data and the release of Fed meeting minutes this week are expected to provide additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory.

Investors also looked ahead to Thursday's ECB meeting for clues on when it will begin cutting interest rates.

The pan European STOXX 600 slipped 0.2 percent to 507.95 after rising half a percent on Monday.

The German DAX fell 0.7 percent and France's CAC 40 shed half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent, led by mining and energy stocks. Miners rallied as Shanghai copper prices surged to record highs on optimism around positive factory data out of major economies.

Anglo American rallied 2.3 percent, Antofagasta added 2.1 percent and Glencore jumped 1.1 percent in London.

BP Plc shares rose about 2 percent after the oil major said it expects to report a strong performance from its trading business for the first quarter.

HSBC Holdings gained half a percent. The lender said it would sell its Argentine banking business operations to Grupo Financiero Galicia in a deal worth $550 million.

Imperial Brands added half a percent after the tobacco giant backed its profit and revenue guidance for fiscal 2024.

UBS was slightly lower. According to Bloomberg News, the Swiss banking giant is contemplating whether to acquire complete ownership of its China platform by engaging in a stake swap deal with a Beijing government investment fund.

Struggling French IT consulting firm Atos plunged 9 percent after issuing an update on its financial restructuring plan.

Nordex SE, a German wind turbine maker, rallied 2.3 percent after receiving orders to supply 295 MW wind turbines from EDF Renewables, South Africa.

Siemens AG edged down slightly. The engineering and technology group said its supervisory Board extended the contract for President and Chief Executive Officer Roland Busch for five years from April 1, 2025.

On a light day on the economic front, France's trade deficit decreased in February as exports rose faster than imports, data released by the customs office showed earlier today.

The trade deficit dropped more-than-expected to EUR 5.2 billion in February from EUR 7.2 billion in January.

The shortfall was forecast to decrease to EUR 7.0 billion. In the same period last year, the deficit totalled EUR 8.9 billion.