European Shares
On Thursday, stocks in Europe experienced a steady decline as benchmarks pulled back to new support levels after a three-day winning streak.
Today’s top losers include healthcare and consumer cyclicals. However, the real estate sector as well as energy shares kept indices from sinking further. STOXX-50 is trading 0.50% less, while the FTSE-100 index posted the best performance. This was due to a decrease in sterling which lowered pressure on large British exporters.
While today’s slightly bearish price action has been sparked by the cautious wording regarding rates and inflation from the Fed in yesterday’s publication of the minutes of the last FOMC meeting, it can also be seen as a technical correction inside the broader bullish trend started since the beginning of the year. As long as momentum is maintained, the underlying bullish sentiment will continue to be strong and a rebound above the new short-term floor established this week will remain the most likely scenario.
However, market operators are also likely to become increasingly cautious for the end of the week, waiting for today’s major data, with the UK PMIs as well as the US ADP Non-Farm Employment…
