European shares dropped on Friday, dragged by declines in technology and industrials stocks, with investors looking forward to euro zone inflation data for some clarity on the path for interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank beyond June.
The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.5% as of 0830 GMT, also pressured by higher euro zone bond yields.
However, the STOXX 600 was on track for its second straight weekly advance, rising for nine straight sessions till Wednesday, as a robust earnings season offered a fresh boost to the prevailing upbeat investor sentiment.
“We’ve had a very good run, so it’s natural to have a slight pause,” said Thomas McGarrity, head of equities at RBC Wealth Management.
All eyes are on the final euro zone inflation reading later in the day, after a report showed European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel advocated caution about further rate cuts after a likely first one in June.
“June is widely expected for the first rate cut, but it’s natural for the ECB to try and urge a little bit of caution and sort of reiterate that it’s data dependent,” McGarrity noted.
The policy outlook for major central banks has turned a little complicated.
European shares snap nine-day winning streak
Multiple ECB policymakers have indicated a June cut, but sounded cautious on the need for future cuts, while recent encouraging US economic data haven’t seen Federal Reserve policymakers openly shift views about rate cut timing.
Construction and materials was the worst hit sector, down 1.3% after Nibe lost 7.5% as Citigroup downgraded the Swedish heat-pump maker to “neutral” from “buy”.
Technology shed 1.3%, with Auto Trader Group falling 4.9% and leading losses after a Morgan Stanley rating downgrade to “underweight” from “equal weight”.
Among others, Siemens dropped 2.2%, after already losing 7% on Thursday following second-quarter earnings, weighing on the industrial sector, down 1.1%. Additionally, news broke on Friday that ABB will buy the German rival’s wiring accessories business in China.
Swiss luxury company Richemont jumped 4.5% after reporting what Jefferies analysts described as “reassuringly resilient” fourth-quarter results, and naming Nicolas Bos as group CEO.
The broader luxury sector was up 0.4%. Lagercrantz Group AB jumped 9.1% to top the STOXX 600 after fourth-quarter earnings. H&M rose 2.3% after RBC upgraded the fashion retailer to “outperform” from “sector perform”.
French re-insurer Scor dropped 9.6% after first-quarter results missed expectations. German utility E.ON lost 4.4% on trading ex-dividend.
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