By Adam Whittaker
European indexes fell after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it would slow the speed of interest rate cuts.
In early morning European trade, indexes were trading down as markets digested hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve and Chairman Powell which left investors blindsided, Richard Hunter, Head of Markets at Interactive Investor, said.
Spain's IBEX 35 was the largest faller, trading 1.5% down. Switzerland's SMI fell 1.4%. Italy's FTSE MIB, France's CAC 40, the Netherlands AEX, Italy's FTSE MIB and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 all fell around 1.0%. Germany's DAX fell 0.7%, and the Euro STOXX 50 and the broader STOXX Europe 600 fell around 1.0% each.
The comments from the Federal Reserve and Powell accompanied--and overshadowed--Wednesday's widely expected cut in U.S. interest rates. The cut was the third reduction in a row and lowered the central bank's benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 4.25% and 4.5%.
However, the Federal Reserve halved the expected pace of interest rate cuts for next year.
European banking and technology stocks fell. The STOXX Europe 600 Technology index fell 1.9% while the STOXX 600 Bank index shed 1.0%. Large lenders with significant exposure to the U.S.--such as Santander, Barclays, UBS and BNP Paribas--suffered the biggest losses in early exchanges.
While rates are now a full percentage point below September's level, Powell said Wednesday's decision was a closer call than previously and suggested the speed of rate cuts will slow as the central bank becomes more cautious.
Federal Reserve officials now expect around two rate cuts in 2025, down from four at their meeting in September.
Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 19, 2024 04:18 ET (09:18 GMT)
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