EUROPE: Stocks trade lower on recession woes

European stock markets were lower on Wednesday, 07 December 2022, extending yesterday's losses, as recession rhetoric from major US banks and anxious about the outlook for interest rates curbed enthusiasm about China's major shift in its tough zero-COVID policy.

At 12:45 GMT, the pan European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.6% to 436.140. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index fell 0.1% to 7,512. France's CAC 40 index shed 0.66% to 6,643.94. Germany's DAX index dropped 0.65% to 14,250.41. Switzerland's Swiss Market index dropped 0.96% to 11,002.44.

The Fed is certain to raise interest rates again on December 14, but it is not clear if the central bank will do so by just a half point or if it will boost rates by three-quarters of a point for the fifth straight time. Continued strength in the ISM Services data and jobs market has some worried that inflation is still not yet under control.

 

China's national health authority said on Wednesday that asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and those with mild symptoms can self-treat while in quarantine at home. Cross-region travelers in China will no longer need to show Covid-negative test results, according to a National Health Commission release. Areas that are not designated as high-risk cannot halt work or production, the notice said. Covid patients without symptoms can also choose to isolate at home for five days, it said.

Markets eye central bank decisions, with the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve all due to hold their monetary policy meetings next week. Interest rates will go up again, though they are now "very near" their neutral level, ECB policymaker Constantinos Herodotou said on Tuesday.

Back to home, shares of miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore fell 1-2% after data showed China's exports and imports both shrank to their weakest level since mid-2020 in November.

Shares of BP Plc and Shell both falling over 1%, after crude oil prices dropped to an 11-month low on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand as uncertainty and consequences of a continued Fed tightening weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended lower by $2.68 or 3.5% at $74.25 a barrel.

GSK soared 10.5% and French peer Sanofi SA surged 5.8% after a favourable U.S. court ruling involving the heartburn drug Zantac.

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