European Shares Extend Losses For Third Day

(RTTNews) - European stocks drifted lower for a third day running on Wednesday as investors digested regional inflation data and looked forward to the European Central Bank's rate-setting meeting later in the week for directional cues.

Chinese demand concerns and fears that Donald Trump's return to the White House would herald more inflation and higher interest rates also weighed on markets.

The pan European STOXX 600 was down half a percent at 514.66 after falling 0.3 percent on Tuesday.

The German DAX slipped 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent.

Dutch semiconductor firm ASML Holding tumbled 6.5 percent on concerns about more curbs on exports to China. Peer BE Semiconductor fell 3.3 percent.

Danish hearing aid company Demant plummeted 11 percent after a profit warning.

Mining giant Antofagasta slumped 4 percent. The Chilean miner warned annual production would be at the lower end of guidance.

HSBC Holdings was marginally lower as the lender announced the appointment of Georges Elhedery as the group chief executive.

Reckitt Benckiser shares were fluctuating. The consumer goods group said sales will be affected by a tornado that struck a warehouse in Mount Vernon, Indiana.

Smiths Group fell more than 1 percent after the engineering firm announced the sale of 1.2 million shares in ICU Medical.

Pernod Ricard shares rose 1.3 percent in Paris. The conglomerate has inked a deal to sell its international wine brands to Australian Wine Holdco Limited, a consortium of international institutional investors and owner of Accolade Wines.

Allianz fell about 1 percent after the German insurer agreed to buy a majority stake in Singapore's Income Insurance for about $1.6 billion.

Adidas jumped 3.6 percent. The sportswear maker raised its full-year guidance after reporting a 11 percent increase in revenue during second quarterly of FY24.

In economic releases, Eurozone consumer price inflation has been finalized at 2.5 percent year-on-year in June, down from May's 2.6 percent. A year earlier, the rate was 5.5 percent.

U.K. inflation came in unchanged at the official target in June, but the stability of services inflation reduced chances of a rate cut in August.

The consumer price index grew 2.0 percent on a yearly basis, the same pace of growth as seen in May, the Office for National Statistics said. Headline inflation was expected to ease to 1.9 percent.

The chances of an interest rate cut in August diminished a bit more as services inflation steadied at 5.7 percent.