PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets fell at the start of the session on Friday, in the wake of Wall Street and the major Asian markets, new statements by Federal Reserve officials having revived fears linked to the rise in interest rates and inflation.
In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.58% to 7,159.64 points at 08:35 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.1% and in Frankfurt, the Dax fell 0.49%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index is down 0.7%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.49% and the Stoxx 600 0.51%.
The remarks made Thursday by several leaders of the Fed, in particular its governor and likely future vice-president, Lael Brainard, confirmed in the eyes of investors the scenario of a first rate hike in March.
This perspective weighed on the trend on Wall Street, which ended in sharp decline (-1.42% for the Standard & Poor’s 500), as in Tokyo (-1.28% for the Nikkei).
In Europe, the technology sector is the most affected by the downturn with a drop of 1.13% for its Stoxx index.
Investors are also awaiting monthly retail sales figures in the United States and the first publications of results in the American banking sector, two factors that call for caution.
In values, EDF fell 22.72% and is heading for its biggest drop since its IPO in 2005, after the announcement of new measures aimed at limiting the rise in the electricity bill for French households and the revision to the drop in its 2022 production forecast, which will weigh heavily on its financial results.
Bucking the trend, German enterprise software giant SAP rose 1.16% in Frankfurt after reporting solid fourth-quarter cloud revenue growth and a new share buyback plan.
(Written by Marc Angrand, edited by Blandine Hénault)