European stocks close without a single sign waiting for Fed and BoE

The bags of Europe closed mixed this Wednesday (3). Investors monitored positive data from the United Kingdom and the euro zone, in addition to corporate balance sheets. Also awaiting the monetary policy decisions of the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England (BoE), and absorb assessments by the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde.

The Stoxx 600 index, which brings together the main stocks of the continent, ended the session up 0.35%, at 481.22 points.

In London, the FTSE100 fell 0.36% to 7,248.89 points. The main downfall was Darkplace, the cybersecurity company. “Darktrace shares continued to fall as the lock period after the IPO finally expired today,” says Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets.

The drop in oil also influenced shares in the London index. BP and Royal Dutch Shell shares retreated 2.39% and 1.81%, respectively.

The UK services purchasing manager’s index (PMI) rose to 59.1 in October, its highest level since July, according to IHS Markit and CIPS. Despite being well above the preliminary data, the data was not enough to guarantee the positive performance of the FTSE100.

In Frankfurt, the DAX closed up slightly higher, from 0.03%, to 15,959.98 points. On the German stock exchange, Lufthansa’s shares jumped 6.44% after the company reported that it reduced losses in the third quarter of this year and returned to having the EBIT adjusted to the positive.

Today’s operations take place awaiting the Fed’s monetary decision. The market expects the US central bank to announce this afternoon the beginning of tapering, a process of gradual reduction in asset purchases.

As the largest economy in the world, the Fed’s monetary policy is reflected in Europe. Tomorrow, it’s time for the BoE’s decision. The market expects an increase in the basic interest rate, but there is no consensus among analysts.

President of ECB, Christine Lagarde, assesses that the medium-term inflation outlook remains “contained” in the euro zone, despite the current inflationary pressure. For her, the increase in the basic interest rate by the ECB should not take place next year.

Today, Eusrostat said the eurozone unemployment rate dropped from 7.5% in August to 7.4% in September, performing better than expected by analysts.

In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.34% to 6,950.65 points. In Milan, the FTSE MIB advanced 0.69%, to 27,377.87 points. In Madrid, the IBEX 35 fell 0.82%, to 9,030.80, and in Lisbon, the PSI 20 retreated 1.62%, to 5,692.45 points.