Renewed tension in Ukraine drags European stocks down

PARIS, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Major European stock markets fell in early trading on Monday as heightened tensions over the conflict in Ukraine added to concerns over rate hikes ahead of several key economic events in the coming days. come. In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.54% to 5,835.49 points around 07:45 GMT and in London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.58% while in Frankfurt, the Dax was practically unchanged. The EuroStoxx 50 index is down 0.4%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.47% and the Stoxx 600 0.29%. The latter thus brings to 3% its decline since last Tuesday. Explosions took place earlier in the day in several cities in Ukraine including Kyiv, the capital, and Lviv, the largest city in the west of the country, two days after the one that damaged the Crimean bridge. Kyiv police reported at least five dead and 12 injured. This news encourages a little more caution among investors already taken on the wrong foot on Friday by the US employment figures, which called into question the scenario of a slowdown in the Federal Reserve’s rate hike. The week that is beginning will be animated, among other things, by the inflation figures in the United States (Wednesday for producer prices, Thursday for consumer prices), by the publication of the “minutes” of the Fed (Wednesday) but also by the start of the publication of results, with among others those of LVMH on Tuesday and four of the main American banks on Friday. LVMH is among the biggest falls in the CAC 40 with a decline of 1.94%. On the rise, Renault gained 4.95% and hit its highest level since February after the confirmation of discussions with its Japanese ally Nissan on a possible evolution of their alliance. (Writing by Marc Angrand, editing by Kate Entringer)