European stocks tumble as recession fears grip global markets

European shares tumbled more than 1% on Friday, as recession warnings from two major global financial institutions and bets on a big interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve next week rattled confidence. of investors.

The drops put the European STOXX 600 index on track for a weekly drop of 2.4%.

All major sector indices were down, with interest rate-sensitive tech stocks leading the way down.

Mail and logistics companies tumbled after US FedEx Corp withdrew its financial forecast last Thursday, warning of a slowdown in global demand.

Shares in Deutsche Post, Kuehne & Nagel, DSV Panalpina and Royal Mail Plc were down between 2.9% and 12.0% earlier.

The World Bank said on Thursday that the global economy could be heading towards a recession as central banks aggressively fight inflation, while the International Monetary Fund said it expected a slowdown in the third quarter.

“The World Bank has highlighted that as the new tightening policies are synchronized across multiple countries, the effects of these interest rates could be compounded and magnified, leading to a sharper-than-expected slowdown in global growth,” Sophie said in a note. Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The STOXX 600 is down just over 1% so far this month, heading for its second straight monthly decline as investors worried about rising prices and an energy and cost-of-living crisis in the region.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 1.00% to 1,622 points.

• In LONDON, the Financial Times index fell 0.01%, to 7,281 points.
• In FRANKFURT, the DAX index fell 1.67% to 12,740 points.
• In PARIS, the CAC-40 index lost 1.28%, at 6,078 points.
• In MILAN, the Ftse/Mib index had depreciated by 0.85%, at 22,176 points.
• In MADRID, the Ibex-35 index registered a drop of 0.78%, at 8,022 points.
• In LISBON, the PSI20 index was down 0.48%, to 5,885 points.