European stock markets continued to trade with small losses on Thursday as investors turned their attention to the monetary policy decisions of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England (BoE).
THE The ECB today confirmed the decisions received at the monetary policy meeting last December, reiterating that in the first quarter of 2022 it will conduct net purchases under the Pandemic Emergency Program (PEPP) at a slower pace than in the previous quarter.
At the same time, it confirmed that it would stop net asset purchases under the PEPP program at the end of March 2022.
The ECB’s decisions came in the wake of data released yesterday by Eurostat and showed a jump in annual inflation to new record at 5.1% in January, from 5% in December 2021.
For its part, the Bank of England proceeded to increase its interest rates by 25 basis points, at 0.5%, with half of the bank members, however, being in favor of a larger increase by 50 bp. in order to curb inflation.
In this climate, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index is down 0.5% at 474.46 points.
The German DAX fell 0.4% to 15,554.45 points, the French CAC 40 lost 0.15% to 7,104.57 points, while the British FTSE 100 fell 0.25% to 7,564.01 points.
In the region, the Italian FTSE MIB and the Spanish IBEX 35 are down 0.4%.
In business developments, Roche plunged 2.9% after the Swiss pharmaceutical company announced that sales growth is expected to slow this year.
The French Publicis Groupe, the third largest advertising company in the world, is jumping 2.1% after forecasting 4% to 5% growth in organic sales this year and announcing record profits for 2021.
Shell’s title also gained 1.6% after announcing the highest quarterly profits in the last eight years and the decision of the energy giant to increase its dividend.
At the macro level, economic growth in the Eurozone slowed further in early 2022, as shown by the latest PMI data from IHS Markit, as the rapid spread of the coronavirus mutation put pressure on economic activity, especially in services.
In particular, the composite PMI, which covers services and manufacturing, fell to 52.3 points in January from 53.3 points in December.
At the same time, Eurostat data showed that producer prices jumped 2.9% in December 2021 compared to November 2021, both in the Eurozone and in the EU. in a new indication that upward pressure on prices will continue.
Compared to December 2020, prices rallied 26.2% in both regions, with a boost from the energy sector.
Source: Capital
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