European shares eye first weekly loss in eight; focus on data for rate clues
By Ankika Biswas
(Reuters) -European shares dropped on Friday in a broader market decline, poised for their first weekly loss in eight, with investors awaiting euro-zone inflation prints and U.S. payrolls data that could further shape monetary policy expectations.
The pan-European STOXX 600 lost 0.8% by 0935 GMT, eyeing a 1% weekly decline, in a somewhat rocky start to 2024, after eight consecutive weekly gains on ramped-up bets of easing monetary policy.
Technology and retail were the top sectoral losers for the week, with the latter also leading declines for the day.
Headlining stocks for the day included French spirits companies Remy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard (EPA:PERP), down 10.1% and 5.5% respectively, after China announced the launch of an anti-dumping investigation on brandy imported from the European Union.
This steered a 1% drop in France's benchmark CAC-40 index.
The food and beverages index shed 1.1%, with Italy's Campari (LON:0ROY) and UK's Diageo (LON:DGE) losing more than 2% each.
On the data front, Euro-zone consumer and producer inflation reports and U.S. non-farm payrolls data, due later in the day, will be key for investors in assessing when the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve can start cutting rates this year.
Bets of a pause and a cut in ECB rates in March were almost evenly split- fresh evidence of investors scaling back their expectations of rate cuts as soon as the first quarter of 2024. Policy decisions from both the ECB and Fed are due by month-end.
Fresh data signalled a higher-than-expected fall in German November retail sales, a day after other reports indicated a rise in German and French inflation, strengthening the case for the ECB to keep rates higher for longer.
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