European stocks fall ahead of ECB meeting; German factory orders slump
Investing.com — European stock markets slipped lower Thursday, amid caution ahead of the latest European Central Bank rate-setting meeting.
At 03:10 ET (08:10 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.6% lower, the CAC 40 in France traded 0.6% lower and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. dropped 0.3%.
European equities have handed back some of the previous session’s gains when investors took comfort from growing signs the Federal Reserve will soon embark on rate cuts.
Attention has now turned to the latest meeting of the ECB later in the session, with the central bank widely expected to keep interest rates at a record 4.0%.
Inflation has continued to fall in the eurozone, but policymakers are likely to repeat that they need more evidence inflation is under control and that ongoing wage increases will not give it persistence.
The ECB's new economic projections are likely to point to lower economic growth this year, while German factory orders fell 11.3% on the month in January, data showed earlier Thursday, illustrating the weakness in the eurozone's largest economy.
Interest rate futures are almost fully priced in for a first rate cut from the ECB in June, with a total easing of 88 basis points expected for all of this year.
In the corporate sector, Hugo Boss (ETR:BOSSn) stock slumped 16% after the German fashion retailer forecast operating profit for 2024 below market expectations, as it flagged persistently weak consumer confidence, in particular in distinct European economies.
Lufthansa (ETR:LHAG) stock traded largely flat after the German airline cut its outlook for its 2024 operating margin to 7.6% from a goal of 8% as the impact of strikes and a drop in logistics profits will lead to a higher expected operating loss in the
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