EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Slip As Traders Wait For Fed Rate Update
September 19 2017 - 4:43AM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Heineken slides after Femsa sells stake
European stock markets traded slightly lower on Tuesday, with
investors staying cautious ahead of this week's Federal Reserve
meeting that will be scrutinized for hints on future U.S. monetary
policy.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.2% to 381.19, partly
erasing a 0.3% gain from Monday.
Among biggest decliners in the pan-European index, shares of
Heineken NV (HEIA.AE) slumped 4% after Mexico's Femsa (FMX) late
Monday said it's selling a 5.24% stake in the Dutch brewer.
Fed in focus: Traders in Europe were waiting for the U.S. Fed to
provide its policy update on Wednesday, which could impact multiple
asset classes, such as stocks globally, currencies and gold. The
two-day meeting kicks off on Tuesday.
The central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold, but
to start unwinding its $4.5 trillion balance sheet
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-balance-sheet-unwind-will-be-moment-of-truth-for-financial-markets-2017-09-18).
"With investors still re-evaluating the Federal Reserve's
ability to raise U.S. interest rates in December, attention will be
directed towards Janet Yellen and her thoughts on the recent
inflation trends in the U.S.," said Lukman Otunuga, research
analyst at FXTM, in a note.
"A hawkish Yellen, who leaves the door open for another rate
hike before year-end, is likely to offer the dollar a lifeline," he
added.
If the dollar rises against the euro and pound it can give a
boost to European equities, as it means eurozone and British goods
and services become cheaper for American businesses and consumers
to purchase.
The euro bought $1.1995 on Tuesday, up from $1.1954 late Monday
in New York. The pound traded at $1.3543, up from $1.3494 on
Monday.
Read:'We were wrong' -- HSBC reverses bearish pound view after
BOE rate hints
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-were-wrong-hsbc-reverses-bearish-pound-view-after-boe-rate-hints-2017-09-18)
European economic news:France cut its budget deficit forecasts
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/france-cuts-deficit-forecasts-as-growth-improves-2017-09-19-3485480)
for this year and next after taking austerity measures over the
summer and as economic growth has been stronger than initially
expected.
At 10 a.m. London time, or 5 a.m. Eastern Time, the German Zew
economic sentiment index is out.
Indexes: Germany's DAX 30 index fell 0.1% to 12,544.60, while
France's CAC 40 index lost 0.1% to 5,223.78.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was up 0.1% at 7,256.65.
Movers: Shares of J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) rose 1.9% even as
the grocer lost market share in the 12 weeks to Sept. 10.
Ocado Group PLC (OCDO.LN) fell 4.8% as the online grocery
delivery company said average order size during the 13 weeks to
Aug. 27 fell 1.2% compared with the year-ago period. Overall,
Ocado's revenue rose 14% during the fiscal third quarter.
Telia Co. AB (TELIA.SK) picked up 1.1% after the Scandinavian
telecom operator sold its final 7% stake in Turkcell Iletism
Hizmetleri AS (TCELL.IS) , raising 1.78 billion Turkish lira
($513.4 million).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 19, 2017 04:28 ET (08:28 GMT)
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