European Shares Decline Ahead of a Speech by The President of The US Federal Reserve

European shares fell ahead of a speech due to be delivered by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2% in early trading, with the travel and leisure and banking sectors leading the declines, after they achieved gains for most of the week.

Investors are focused squarely on Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole summit scheduled for 1400 GMT after fresh calls for an early cut in stimulus from a number of US central bank policymakers who tend to tighten monetary policy have unsettled investors.

European and US stocks are near record levels, but concerns about the highly contagious mutated delta strain of the coronavirus, slowing economic momentum and a gradual scaling back of stimulus have weighed on investor sentiment recently.

A survey revealed that French consumer confidence fell slightly in August, pushing the CAC 40 index of the country’s leading shares down 0.3 percent.