European stocks choppy as investors await Fed minutes
European stocks were lower on Wednesday after initially opening higher, as investors remain cautious ahead of the closely-watched release of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest minutes.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.5 percent, with all sectors in the red, with the exception of telecoms.
All major bourses were in negative territory, with Germany’s DAXsharply down, off more than 1 percent.
Global markets are looking ahead to the release of the minutes from the Fed’s meeting in July for clues on where the central bank might be heading in terms of the timing of interest rate rises. U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday ahead of the release of the minutes, due on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.
The Fed could still raise interest rates twice this year, with a move in September a possibility, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
“I would not rule out September. If the meeting were today, I think the economic data would justify a serious discussion” of whether to raise rates now, Lockhart told reporters after a speech in Knoxville on Tuesday. New York Fed President William Dudley also weighed in on the debate separately, saying a rate hike in September was “possible.”
Elsewhere, investors were focused on U.K. employment data which showed the country’s jobless rate held steady at 4.9 percent in the three months to June. But many market watchers noted that the July count for unemployment benefits fell, which surprised analysts who had expected a rise post-Brexit. Sterling was slightly down against the dollar during trade, at $1.300 at 12.30 p.m. London time.
Meanwhile, oil prices came under pressure on Wednesday, as analysts weighed up how successful potential talks between leading producers could be, when try to fix the supply glut problem. Brent and U.S. WTI were both lower in trade, last standing around $49.15 and $46.55 respectively.
Carlsberg shares lose fizz
A number of European corporates reported earnings on Wednesday. Danish brewer Carlsberg reported first-half results that missed expectations but key its 2016 outlook, sending shares near the bottom of the STOXX 600, off more than 5.5 percent.
Dutch bank ABN Amro was a top performer, up over 3 percent after it reported a 7 percent rise in second-quarter operating profits which beat analyst expectations.
Meanwhile in the U.K., shares of insurer Admiral tumbled 8.5 percent after the company warned that market volatility around the Brexit vote impacted its solvency ratio. But it also reported a 4 percent year-on-year rise in first half group profit before tax.
Source: CNBC
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