European Stocks Fall After BOE Forecast

European stocks fell on Thursday after the Bank of England forecast; the economic recovery to be slower after the pandemic, which affected the London stock markets.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.3%, with London’s FTSE 100 falling 1.4%.

After seeing a rally in the previous session on the back of higher commodity prices, the European SXPP fell 1.7% after Glencore scrapped dividend to focus on lowering debt as the COVID-19 pandemic cost in a $ 3.2 billion charge.

The Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged and warned of potential risks from lowering interest rates below zero, as British stocks took a hit after the pound rallied.

The German DAX  got a boost from the engineering group Siemens, which posted better-than-expected industrial profits for Q3.

Meanwhile, data showed that German goods orders rose sharply in June in the latest sign that Europe’s largest economy is beginning to ignore the effects of months of lockdowns. However, quantities are still well below pre-epidemic levels.