(MENAFN– ecpulse)
European shares kicked-off Wednesday`s session in red territories, dragged down by the World Bank`s lower global growth forecast. The World Bank`s gloomier outlook helped put the brakes on sentiment that had been on the upswing.
As of 03:15 EST:
- STX Europ 600 fell 0.24%, 0.83 points to trade at 348.88
- Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.08%, 2.34 points to 3,304.63
World Bank Cuts 2014 Global Growth Estimate
In an outlook released Tuesday, the World Bank downgraded its forecast for the global economy this year, citing political crisis in Ukraine and unusually cold weather in the United States.
The bank now expects the world economy to grow faster — 2.8 percent this year compared with 2.4 percent in 2013, yet weaker than the 3.2 percent expansion it had predicted in January.
The bank, meanwhile, kept its global growth forecasts for the next two years unchanged at 3.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.
The bank also cut its growth forecast for the U.S. to 2.1 percent from 2.8 percent to account for the toll taken on growth by the weather at the start of the year.
As for the euro-area, the bank maintained its forecast this year for the currency block, which is still recovering from its debt crisis, at 1.1 percent.
UK Unemployment Report in Focus
On the data front, UK monthly unemployment data for May are due at 08:30 GMT. Today’s data highlight will be Jobs report release by the United Kingdome. The report will probably add to the pile of evidence showing the British economy remains strong.
Expectations are for headline unemployment to have dropped to 6.7% for the three months to April, from 6.8% in the three months to March, marking the lowest level since early 2009.
Looking at other the major European indices:
- Britian`s FTSE 100 was down 0.20% at 6,859.86
- Germany`s DAX 30 fell 0.31% at 9,997.91
- France`s CAC 40 lost 0.40% at 4,576.57
Asian equity markets were mixed on Wednesday with momentum subdued following a lackluster session on Wall Street. A run of record highs in the U.S. stock market came to an end Tuesday as the Standard & Poor`s 500 index lost ground for just the second time this month.
French multinational steel pipes maker, Vallourec, saw its shares plunge after the company announced a profit warning on Wednesday. The world leader in premium tubular solutions today announces an update of its 2014 guidance, where the company said that core profit would drop 10 percent this year.
- Vallourec share fell 12.14% to 34.655
Meanwhile, shares Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy’s third-largest bank, fell sharply after after a rights issue in the last two days to repay state aid and bolster capital.
The Italian bank`s stock was suspended on opening for a second day on Tuesday, after the launch of a 5 billion euro ($6.8 billion) share sale.
- Banca Monte Dei Paschi stock dropped 20.76% to 1.756
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