European market has 4th week of low under pressure from technology and automobiles

The European stock market retreated on Friday (28), with the STOXX 600 index falling for the Wednesday in a row, with shares from the auto and tech sectors leading losses amid the prospect of higher interest rates and concerns about the situation in Russia and Ukraine.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 1.02% at 465.55 points, after having dropped as much as 2% during trading. The index lost 1.8% this week, marking its worst performance in more than two months.

Eurozone bond yields rose as markets continued to digest the more hawkish-than-expected message issued by the Federal Reserve after its latest monetary policy meeting.

On Friday, Russia sent the strongest signal yet that it is willing to get involved with US security proposals and reiterated that it does not want war for Ukraine.

“As the weekend approaches, a lot can happen regarding the situation on the Ukrainian border and Russian troops,” said David Madden, market analyst at Equiti Capital.

“The fear is that equity markets will be closed for a period of 48 hours, and what will happen as tensions rise over that period is important.”

The technology sector fell by 1.7%. Shares in automakers tumbled 1.8%, with Volvo down 3.5% after the Swedish truck maker reported lower fourth-quarter results and proposed a smaller-than-expected dividend.

• In London, the Financial Times index dropped 1.17%, to 7,466.07 points;
• In Frankfurt, the DAX index fell 1.32% to 15,318.95 points;
• In Paris, the CAC-40 index lost 0.82%, to 6,965.88 points;
• In Milan, the Ftse/Mib index had a devaluation of 1.18%, to 26,565.41 points;
• In Madrid, the Ibex-35 index registered a drop of 1.10%, to 8,609.80 points;
• In Lisbon, the PSI20 index depreciated by 0.72%, to 5,521.86 points.