European Shares Drift Lower On Rate-hike Concerns

(RTTNews) - European stocks declined on Tuesday as rising oil prices and bond yields stoked worries about inflation and interest-rate hikes.

The pan-European STOXX 600 dropped half a percent to 647.73 after falling 0.6 percent on Monday.

A global bond rout deepened, driving sovereign borrowing costs across Europe. Germany's 30-year government bond yield hit a fresh 15-year high while France's 30-year yield touched its highest level since 2008 as traders assessed Middle East tensions and awaited key U.S. labor market data this week for additional clues on the Federal Reserve's rate trajectory.

As inflation rises on elevated energy prices, the European Central Bank (ECB) is likely to raise its key interest rates by 25 basis points at its policy meeting on September 9-10.

The German DAX fell 0.8 percent and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost nearly 1 percent as traders returned to their desks after a long holiday weekend.

Shares of energy companies like TotalEnergies, BP Plc and Shell rose 1-3 percent as Brent prices rose toward $92 a barrel on concerns about prolonged disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Ashtead Technology Holdings slumped 4.7 percent in London after the subsea equipment rental specialist reported a 7 percent fall in first-half EBITA earnings.

Retail giant Frasers dropped 1.4 percent after announcing it was reviewing its support for Hugo Boss' supervisory board Chair Stephan Sturm.

AstraZeneca declined 1.5 percent despite announcing positive high-level results from the SANOVO Phase III trial in China.

Homebuilder Bellway fell 2.6 percent after it warned of slowing demand.

Advertising group WPP dropped 1.6 percent as it announced plans to eliminate up to 1,000 additional positions by the end of the year.

German beauty, fragrance, and flavor giant Symrise rose 1.3 percent after it agreed to sell AmeriTerpenes LLC, its terpene ingredients business, to international private equity investor Mutares SE & Co. KGaA.

Partners Group Holding plunged 7.6 percent after the Swiss private equity firm replaced chief executive officer David Layton following fund turmoil.