The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 by 11:41 a.m. fell by 1.6% and amounted to 383.18 points.
The British stock index FTSE 100 falls by 1.67%, the German DAX – by 1.43%, the French CAC 40 – by 1.44%. Italian FTSE MIB loses 1.51%, Spanish IBEX 35 – 1.57%.
The market was supported the day before by the Bank of England’s decision to suspend the start of the previously announced government bond sale program and instead start buying government bonds amid a sharp increase in their yield. The spike in yields on UK public debt was triggered by the previously announced massive tax cut, which, according to the British authorities, will increase the budget deficit in the current fiscal year by more than 70 billion pounds.
At the same time, investors continue to worry about the consequences of rising borrowing costs amid persistently high inflation and the worsening energy crisis in the region, writes Trading Economics.
Belgian retailer Etablissementen Franz Colruyt N.V. led the decline among the components of the Stoxx Europe 600 index, losing 20.9%.
Meanwhile, preferred shares of luxury car maker Porsche AG rose moderately on Thursday, the first day of trading after Europe’s biggest IPO in a decade. Porsche shares, which trade under the ticker “P911”, are worth 84.84 euros, compared to the placement price of 82.50 euros.
Next Plc shares are down 8.3% in early trading on Thursday. The British chain of clothing stores in the first financial half of the year received revenue less than expected and worsened its full-year forecast.
Swedish Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) lost 2.4%. The owner of Europe’s second-largest clothing chain saw a sharp decline in net profit in the third financial quarter due to a massive write-down caused by the winding down of operations in Russia.
