European Shares Fall on Fears of a Rate Hike

European shares fell in early trading on Monday, after last week’s first weekly decline in three weeks, amid rising Covid-19 infections and increasing uncertainty over the course of interest rates.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.4 percent at 0830 GMT, weighed down by falls in the real estate, technology and industrial sectors, at a time when major global stock markets recorded narrow gains.

All eyes in the market are now focused on the Eurozone unemployment data for November and the Sentix index, which measures investor sentiment for January.

Shares of Carriage Bank jumped 4.3 percent after a report that Italy’s fifth-largest bank, BBER Banca, had made an improved offer to buy it to outpace rival Credit Agricole Italy.

BMW shares rose 1.4 percent after Goldman Sachs raised its buy recommendation on the company’s stock and raised its target price for the stock to 123 euros from 110 euros.

Shares in French technology consultancy Atos Inc. fell 16.7 percent after it issued a profit warning that reflects delays in deals to clients and puts pressure on the margins of its hardware and software reselling unit.