European markets open to close, Federal Reserve, inflation data

LONDON – European shares were trading lower on Tuesday as investors closely watched the euro as it hovered near parity with the dollar.

pan europe Stokes 600 The index was trading down 0.5% at lunchtime, with most major sectors and stock exchanges in negative territory. The European Banks Index led the losses, with trading down more than 2%.

The euro is teetering on the edge of parity with dollar On Tuesday as the euro zone energy supply crisis and economic problems continued to drag the single currency down. The euro was last seen trading down 0.2% at around $1,002, making up for some earlier losses.

Looking at individual stocks, French stocks EDF It was the best performing indicator. Shares of the Paris-listed bourse rose more than 6 percent after two sources told Reuters that the French government was preparing to pay more than eight billion euros ($8 billion) to bring the energy giant back under full state control.

The French government announced last week that it would nationalize the company. It already owns 84% ​​of the company.

The Swedish cloud operator was the worst performer in the index cinch, down nearly 20% as the losses seen on Monday continued. The company said its second-quarter earnings would be hit after it reassessed the historical cost of goods sold, Reuters reported.

Oil and gas inventories were volatile Tuesday morning, swinging between positive and negative territory as investors weigh the risks related to gas supplies to Europe after Russia. Pending gas deliveries to Germany via Nord Stream 1 pipeline during its annual summer maintenance.

The planned 10-day maintenance of the pipeline has raised concerns that Russia could further disrupt gas supplies to Germany.

On the data front, German investor sentiment sharply in July. The ZEW Institute for Economic Research said Tuesday that its index of economic confidence fell to -53.8 from -28 last month. The reading was influenced by ongoing concerns over Germany’s energy supply, European Central Bank monetary policy and pandemic-related shutdowns in China.

The negative sentiment in European markets comes as investors brace for more key inflation data from the US this week.

The June CPI is expected to show core inflation, including food and energy, rising above the 8.6% level in May.

Market participants were considering a stronger-than-expected job report from the US Last Friday showed that the economic downturn that worries investors is yet to come.

Although the jobs report is beneficial to the economy, it could encourage the Federal Reserve to continue sharp rate hikes in the coming months to combat persistently high inflation. it will be tested With a string of US earnings from major banks and the latest consumer inflation reading due this week.

No major earnings releases in Europe on Tuesday.