Original title: [European Express] OPEC + crude oil production consensus oil and gas stocks lead UK employment growth to a record
Source: FX168
European stock markets fell on Thursday, as investors digested yesterday's US and UK inflation data, as well as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Colin Powell, and waited for more earnings and employment data to be released.
As of this release (17:25 Beijing time), the UK's FTSE 100th index, France's CAC index and Germany's DAX index rose or fell by + 0.10%,-0.33% and-0.66%, respectively.
After OPEC + reached an agreement on future oil production levels, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.3 per cent in early trading, oil and gas stocks fell 2.3 per cent, while food and beverage stocks rose 0.4 per cent.
Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell tried to allay investor fears that central bank easing would soon be withdrawn, stressing once again that inflation was temporary. Mr Powell said the current economy was "some way off" from where the central bank needed to change its policy.
Us stock index futures were mixed in early trading on Thursday as investors were making profits for more companies (Morgan StanleyPrepare for the release of earnings) and labor market data.
The latest economic data showed that employment in the UK rose for the seventh month in a row in June, during which time the company added more than 356,000 employees, the biggest increase on record.
A large number of tourism stocks are also falling as investors continue to watch the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, which has appeared in 111countries. This Wednesday, Balearic, SpainThe archipelago (Balearic) has been downgraded from a green list to an amber list by the UK, meaning passengers returning from the islands must be quarantined from next Monday unless they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Sterling fell 0.17% against the dollar to $1.3837 after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he would not make any decision to raise interest rates even in the face of rising inflationary pressures.
In terms of individual share price movements, Czech cyber security software company Avast surged more than 13 per cent after announcing takeover talks with its US counterpart NortonLifeLock.
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, SiemensSiemens Gamesa plunged more than 13 per cent after its second profit warning, while its parent Siemens energy also fell 8 per cent.