European Stocks Close Lower As Investors Weigh Impact Of Central Banks' Policy Moves

(RTTNews) - European markets ended on a negative note on Thursday with investors digesting a slew of monetary policy decisions from global central banks, including the Bank of England (BoE) and the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The BoE left its policy rate unchanged at 5.25% with the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voting 5-4 in favor of holding the policy rate steady.

The BoE decided to hold rates steady for the first time since November 2021 as inflation eased to an 18-month low, while the economy is moving closer to a mild recession. Markets had widely expected a quarter-point hike.

The bank had tightened its policy at each and every rate-setting meeting since December 2021, when the rate stood at a modest 0.1%. At 5.25%, the interest rate is the highest since early 2008.

The Swiss National Bank too paused its hiking cycle, but warned that more increases may still be needed.

Sweden's Riksbank raised borrowing costs by a quarter point and said it might need to do more to bring inflation back to its 2% target.

Norway's central bank Norges Bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points and indicated another rate hike in December to curb inflation.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady, but said it expects one more hike before the end of the year. The central bank is also likely to announce fewer cuts than previously indicated next year.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 1.3% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended lower by 0.69%, Germany's DAX fell 1.33% and France's CAC 40 lost 1.59%, while Switzerland's SMI declined 0.62%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed weak.

Turkiye ended sharply higher, while Greece ended flat.

In the UK market, Just Eat Takeawy.com, ended 4.4% down. Flutter Entertainment, Croda International, Antofagasta, Melrose Industries, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Glencore, Halma, Ferguson, Fresnillo, IG and IHG declined 2 to 3.5%.

Ocado Group plunged nearly 20% following a rating downgrade.

In the German market, BASF lost nearly 5% and Sartorius shed about 4.2%. Zalando, Siemens Energy, Bayer, Symrise, Adidas and Porsche lost 2 to 3.25%. Mercedes-Benz, SAP, Covestro, Fresenius Medical Care and Siemens also declined sharply.

In Paris, Hermes International lost nearly 6%. Essilor, Airbus Group, Safran, L'Oreal, Stellantis, WorldLine, ArcelorMittal, Dassault Systemes, Alstom, Legrand, Saint Gobain, Edenred, Societe Generale and Pernod Ricard ended down 1.3 to 3.5%.