The European markets closed with losses amid inflation concerns

European stock markets closed lower on Wednesday as fears of inflation put pressure on markets.

In particular, the pan-European Stoxx 600 lost 1.14% to 433.95 points, with the tech industry slipping by 2.8% and leading the losses, as most industries closed in negative territory. At the same time, the other pan-European Stoxx 50 fell 1.36% to 3,690.74 points.

On the rest of the board, the German DAX recorded losses of 1.26% at 14,007.76 points, the British FTSE 100 the French lost 1.07% to 7,438.09 points CAC-40 closed at 6,352.94 points, down 1.20%.

On the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB lost 0.89% to 24,085.82 points while the Spanish IBEX-35 recorded marginal gains of 0.01% at 8,476.40 points.

The central banks’ battle with inflation has been at the center of investment attention amid speculation about the resilience of economies in the context of tightening monetary policy after many years of zero interest rates.

THE Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said yesterday that “what we need to see is that inflation fall in a clear and convincing way,” adding that the US Federal Reserve will continue to push until it sees this decline in inflation. The Fed raised interest rates by 50 basis points in its last session, the largest increase in 20 years, and has planned two more increases of 50 basis points. every time in the summer.

Data released today by Eurostat showed that the annual inflation rate of the euro area was 7.4% in April 2022, stable compared to March. The initial measurement of inflation for April was at 7.5%, with the index still remaining at a high level after the downward revision by the European Statistical Office.

Meanwhile, data released today in the UK showed annual inflation jumping to a 40-year high of 9% in April from 7% in March. The country’s central bank carried out its fourth consecutive rate hike in May, pushing its interest rate to 1%, while markets are expecting further increases in the coming months despite the risk of the British economy slipping into recession.

In terms of individual stock movements, wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa jumped more than 12.5% ​​after a Reuters report that Siemens Energy was preparing a bid to buy the rest of the company it no longer owns.