European stocks closed lower on Thursday, with investors wary of announcing US inflation data and markets are looking at scientific announcements for new coronavirus Omicron.
Global markets have rallied in recent days as the scientific community’s initial estimates of the Omicron mutation are reassuring, although health experts continue to advise caution as there is still much uncertainty. Initial data, however, show that the new executive is milder than the delta that has prevailed worldwide.
This sends an encouraging signal that the impact of the new mutation will not be such as to derail economies. Yesterday’s announcements by Pfizer-BioNTech about the effectiveness of their vaccine against the new mutation were also encouraging. The two companies announced that based on the initial tests, the third dose of the vaccine is effective in treating the micron, while they stated that they will be able to have a new version of their vaccine by March 2022, adapted for the new mutation.
Investors, meanwhile, are waiting for the critical data to be announced on Friday in the US for the course of inflation after the jump of prices to a high of 30 years in October at 6.2%.
The figures come shortly before the Federal Reserve and the ECB met next week to set their policy. Analysts do not rule out that the Fed will move earlier than expected to raise interest rates, if it finds that high inflation shows no signs of slowing down.
Back in Europe, the ECB is close to a temporary increase in bond markets under the regular APP program, but which will be significantly lower than the total current markets under the pandemic emergency program (PEPP) expected to end March and APP.
The move, which will be discussed at the ECB’s Governing Council meeting on 16 December, is aimed at keeping bond yields low after the end of the 1.85 trillion level. PEPP, without at the same time binding excessive firepower at a time when inflation is already high and growth prospects are uncertain.
Discussions by Reuters with six sources, who are directly aware of the discussions, show that a compromise is being formed around the increase in the APP, but there will be limits regarding the size and duration of the commitment, leaving it to the members of D. Σ. the flexibility to adapt the policy later.
In this climate, the pan-European index Stoxx 600 fell 0.08% to 476.99 points, while in the initial trading of the day it recorded gains. The biggest losses were recorded by the oil and gas sector with a fall of 1.1%.
In the individual dashboard, the German DAX lost 0.3% to 15,639, 26 points, the French CAC 40 recorded losses of 0.09% to 7,008.23 points and the British FTSE 100 slipped 0.22% to 7,321.26 points.
On the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB added 0.24% to 26,817.38 points, while the Spanish IBEX 35 lost 0.93% to 8,399.60 points.
In the individual movements shares, UniCredit jumped almost 11% in the wake of the announcement of the Italian bank that it aims to increase profits by 10% on average.
On the other hand, the Polish mailbox company InPost fell more than 8%.
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I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
