European stocks open lower on interest rate hike fears

European stocks opened lower on Thursday on fears of continued monetary tightening, and with the London Stock Exchange slipping amid uncertainty over the extent to which the Bank of England will raise interest rates later in the day.

And by 0716 GMT, the European Stoxx 600 index fell 1.2 percent, and the British Financial Times 100 index fell by 1.2 percent.

The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates for the 13th consecutive time later on Thursday, a day after data revealed that inflation was higher than expected. Dealers are divided between raising it by 25 and 50 basis points.

Interest-sensitive technology stocks fell 1.2 percent, and auto stocks led the declines by 1.9 percent.

US lawmakers called on the Federal Trade Commission late on Wednesday to finalize new consumer protections for car buyers, despite objections from auto dealers who say the rules would effectively raise the cost of buying a car.

Bucking the market trend, CES rose 4.3 percent after the satellite communications service provider said it had halted merger talks with Intelsat.