European Shares Subdued Before US Inflation Test

(RTTNews) - European stocks were subdued on Thursday and the dollar held near a two-month high ahead of the U.S. CPI data later in the day that could influence the pace and size of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

The downside remained capped after official data showed Germany's retail sales increased in August underpinned by food and non-food turnover.

Retail sales grew 1.6 percent on a monthly basis in August after a 1.5 percent gain in July and a 1.1 percent drop seen in June, Destatis reported.

On a yearly basis, retail sales posted a growth of 2.1 percent in real terms and 3.1 percent in nominal terms.

Elsewhere, a closely watched gauge of U.K. house prices turned positive for the first time in almost two years, boosted by expectations of more interest rate cuts by the Bank of England.

The pan European STOXX 600 slid 0.2 percent to 518.81 after climbing 0.7 percent on Wednesday.

The German DAX dropped 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.1 percent.

In corporate news, GSK jumped 5.5 percent after the British drug maker agreed to pay up to $2.2 billion to settle most lawsuits in U.S. state courts.

SCOR SE shares advanced 1.5 percent. The French reinsurance giant said it has entered exclusive negotiations with Huyghens de Participations, the holding company of the Albin Michel group, regarding the sale of its stake in Humensis.

German automaker BMW was moving lower after sales fell the third quarter, weighed down by weak performance in China and delivery stops.

Likewise, sugar producer Sudzucker traded lower after registering a significant decline in result from operations for the second quarter, amidst higher costs and lower prices.

Deutsche Telekom rose 1.2 percent. The telecom major said it plans to propose a buyback program of as much as €2 billion ($2.2 billion) in 2025.