A trader works, as a screen broadcasts a news conference by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell following the Fed rate announcement, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., June 12, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
LONDON — European stocks closed lower Thursday as regional investors reacted to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy decision and U.S. inflation data.
The Stoxx 600 index closed down 1.3%, tumbling from firm gains on Wednesday.
All sectors finished in the red, with autos stocks leading losses, trading down 2.3%, after hitting the lowest level in four months earlier in the session.
It came as the market digested a flurry of news from the sector this week, most notably the European Union’s plan to place higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle makers and a U.K. probe into emissions claims.
Shares of beleaguered French IT group Atos initially dropped 14% after announcing the sale of its consultancy unit Worldgrid, before bouncing back into the green. The company this week agreed to a rescue deal set to majorly dilute existing shareholders.
The move came after the latest U.S. inflation reading; the consumer price index stayed the same for the month of May, lower than the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.1% monthly increase. Year over year, the inflation yardstick increased 3.3%, which also came in below expectations.
The Fed’s post-meeting statement said “inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated,” echoing language from the last statement. In the U.S., markets moved lower even as the S&P 500 hovered near a record levels.
