European Shares Fall Under Pressure

European shares fell on Thursday as investors feared a possible interest rate hike and monetary policy tightening ahead of key European Central Bank decisions later Thursday amid mounting inflation pressures.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.3 percent, led by interest rate-sensitive sectors, such as manufacturing, healthcare, and technology.

Data on Wednesday showed Eurozone inflation hit a record high last month, accelerating to 5.1 percent in January from 5 percent in December, more than double the European Central Bank’s 2 percent target.

Shares of the Swiss drugmaker Roche fell 3 percent after it said sales growth would slow this year as it prepared for a drop in demand for drugs and testing tools linked to Covid-19.

Publicis Group, the third-largest advertising company in the world, increased 1.4 percent to lead the index of major French companies, after it expected sales growth of four to five percent this year, and with its profits for 2021 exceeding pre-pandemic levels to reach new records.

Wind turbine maker Siemens shares fell 0.5% after confirming bleak forecasts of a potentially negative full-year profit margin, hours after appointing a new chief executive in an attempt to revive its business.

Sweden’s Skanska rose 5.0 percent after posting a quarterly profit that exceeded market expectations, and said the construction market activity gradually increased during the year.