(MENAFN– ecpulse)
The European markets opened in red territories on Thursday, with investors seen staying on the sidelines ahead of key interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank as well as the Bank of England. Both central banks are set to leave monetary policy unchanged.
- Stoxx 600 slipped 0.26 percent, 0.86 points to 328.89
- Stoxx 50 declined 0.24 percent, 7.44 points to 3,103.28
European shares steadied near a 5-1/2-year high on Thursday, with investors seen cautious ahead of central bank’s first policy meetings this year that could provide hints about future actions by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
The ECB will be in focus after data earlier this week showed annual rate of the consumer price index (CPI) in the single-currency region eased to 0.8% in December, adding to concerns that the region could suffer from deflation. Although the bank is still widely expected to keep policy unchanged following the surprise rate cut in November to 0.25%.
In addition to the ECB, investors are likely to focus on the Bank of England which also convenes for its policy meeting later today, amid mounting expectations that governor Mark Carney will not change the threshold for considering interest rate rises within months.
-The British FTSE 100 lost 0.16% or 11.10 points to 6,710.94
-The French CAC 40 fell 0.37% or 15.02 points to 4,245.94
-Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dropped 0.26% or 25.56 points to 9,471.92
Across the Atlantic, U.S. shares ended Wednesday’s session in mixed colors after the Federal Reserve minutes showed officials wanted to proceed with its decision in the $85 billion monthly asset purchases, while solid economic data seemed to indicate that the Fed is likely to continue cutting its stimulus.
The week ahead also will also see a raft of speeches from officials of the Federal Reserve on Thursday as well as the closely-watched December non-payrolls data on Friday.
A report released in the previous session showed that private-sector payrolls showed private sector employment to have increased more than expected in December, adding to signs of recovery in the U.S. economy and the labor sector in particular.
Meanwhile, the key non-farm payrolls figure is forecast to drop to 195,000 from 203,000. The overall unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 7.0 percent in December.
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