European stocks decline after the US adheres to monetary tightening

European stocks fell on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, which suffered losses overnight, after the Federal Reserve signaled a longer rate hike and ahead of further interest rate decisions from the Swiss National Bank, the Riksbank, the Norwegian central bank and the Bank of England.

The European STOXX 600 index fell 0.6 percent by 0709 GMT, with shares of technology companies sensitive to interest rates falling 0.8 percent.

Commodity-related sectors such as mining and energy fell by more than one percent each, leading to early losses as metal and oil prices fell against the rise of the dollar.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates on Wednesday as widely expected, revising expectations for the economy higher while warning that the battle against inflation is far from over.

The Nasdaq index fell 1.5 percent at the close.

The British Financial Times 100 index fell 0.5 percent before the Bank of England’s decision on whether to stop a series of interest rate hikes that began in December 2021 after data on Wednesday showed unexpectedly low inflation.