This is CNBC’s live blog covering European markets.
European markets fell on Thursday, as global economic uncertainty cast a shadow over monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and Sweden’s Riksbank.
After a muted start, the regional Stoxx 600 was 0.5% lower by 2 p.m. U.K. time. The Stoxx 600 has closed higher for the last four sessions, rebounding from last week’s 1.22% loss.
Top posts
- Shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd posts 2024 profit decline, flags ‘challenging’ environment | view post
- UK wage growth steady at expected 5.9% ahead of BOE decision | view post
- China’s central bank follows U.S. Fed in keeping rates steady as tariff threats pressure yuan | view post
- Norway’s $1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund invests in European property | view post
- Swiss National Bank makes quarter-point interest rate cut | view post
- Sweden’s Riksbank holds rates, says outlook stable despite ‘dramatic’ global developments | view post
Germany’s DAX snapped a winning run on Wednesday and shed another 1.3% Thursday, while the Stoxx Aerospace and Defense Index was down 2.3% after five consecutive weeks of significant gains.
Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter Investors, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday that there could be a period of “buy the rumor, sell the fact” in European stocks after German lawmakers on Tuesday voted to allow exemptions to the country’s longstanding debt rules, unlocking hundreds of billions in defense, infrastructure and climate spending.
The potential for the reform had driven strong gains in German industrial, manufacturing and defense names earlier this month.
Shares of German engineering and defense group Thyssenkrupp lost early gains to trade 6.8% lower by early afternoon.
In the U.K., the Bank of England held its key interest rate at 4.5% on Thursday, with the central bank warning of global trade uncertainty arising from new U.S. tariffs. The British pound was 0.3% lower against the dollar by 2 p.m. U.K. time.
The Swiss franc was lower against the U.S. dollar after the SNB cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 0.25%. Swiss annual inflation fell to an almost four-year low of 0.3% in February.
The Riksbank meanwhile opted to hold its policy rate at 2.25%, forecasting inflation would come in between 2% and 3% this year before declining and stabilizing near-target.
Thursday’s flurry of European central bank activity comes after the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its key rate, while indicating two quarter-percentage-point cuts are likely later this year despite the uncertainty presented by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policy.
Trump’s volatile tariff announcements and threats will also be considered by global central banks for their potential impact on global growth, inflation and currency markets. The Bank of England is widely expected to hold rates at its March meeting despite weak economic growth.
Shares of Hapag-Lloyd were down 8.3% after the shipping firm said it expected lower net income in 2025 amid geopolitical challenges.
U.S. futures were higher overnight as the major averages looked to build on a Wednesday rally fueled by the Fed’s outlook. Stateside, results are due from Nike, FedEx and Micron Technology.
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed after China’s central bank kept interest rates steady.
‘Path ahead remains murky’ after BOE held interest rates: Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank’s chief U.K. economist, Sanjay Rajay, said the Bank of England’s interest rate decision shows the outlook for the future remains uncertain, as concerns grow around the pace of disinflation.
The central bank’s monetary policy committee voted to leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday at 4.5%, with an 8-1 majority.
“The MPC has given itself room for flexibility noting that there ‘was no presumption that monetary policy was on a pre-set path over the next few meetings.’ In our minds, this opens the door to a rate path that deviates from a quarterly pace of rate cuts – at least in the near-term,” Rajay said, adding that Deutsche Bank expects to see interest rates continue to fall and drop to 3.25% early next year.
“That said, the path ahead remains murky,” Rajay added. “The MPC has given itself more flexibility and optionality to deal with rising near-term CPI – including assessing its impact on potential second-round effects, and ultimately what this means for inflation expectations and pay settlements. Risks, in our mind, are skewed to a more back-loaded easing cycle, with the risk of a brief pause on the rise. “
— Sawdah Bhaimiya
U.S. Stocks open in the red
Stocks retreated on Thursday morning, reversing course from its Wednesday gains.
Shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 fell 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid about 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also pulled back 257 points, or 0.6%.
— Sean Conlon
Unlikely Swiss National Bank will go back to negative interest rates, says economist
Stefan Gerlach, chief economist at EFG Bank, discusses the Swiss National Bank’s latest 25-basis-point cut and his outlook for the Swiss economy over the forthcoming year.
Bank of England putting inflation battle above U.S. tariff risk, economist says
“A hawkish set of minutes and the decision to keep bank rate on hold at 4.50%, with only arch-dove Swati Dhingra dissenting, show that the Bank of England is rightly prioritising controlling inflation over the risk to growth from the Oval Office,” Andrew Wishart, senior U.K. economist at Capital Economics, said in a note on Thursday.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted in favor of holding rates steady on Thursday, with an 8-1 majority.
— Chloe Taylor
Sterling, U.K. borrowing costs fall after Bank of England decision
The British pound shed 0.3% against the dollar by 12:15 p.m. in London, trading at around $1.2966.
Meanwhile, yields on British government bonds — known as gilts — edged lower.
The yield on 10-year gilts shed 5 basis points, while short- and long-term government borrowing costs also fell.
The markets move took place after the Bank of England held its key interest rate steady at 4.5%.
— Chloe Taylor
Bank of England holds interest rates
Bank of England, the Royal Exchange and the statue of the Duke of Wellington in the City of London on 19th February 2025 in London, United Kingdom.
The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged Thursday as the U.K. economy contends with uncertainty around global trade and looming stagnation at home.
The widely anticipated decision keeps the central bank’s benchmark interest rate at 4.5%.
In a statement, the central bank said that its Monetary Policy Committee voted in favor of leaving rates unchanged with an 8-1 majority. One MPC member voted for a 25-basis-point reduction.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Decisive action needed amidst low inflationary environment, says Swiss National Bank chairman
Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel discusses the central bank’s latest quarter-point interest rate cut.
Sweden’s Riksbank holds rates, says outlook stable despite ‘dramatic’ global developments
Sweden’s central bank on Thursday voted to hold its key rate at 2.25% and said it would “remain at this level going forward,” after inflation came in above-target at 2.9% in February.
The Riskbank said that, despite “substantial global turbulence” and “dramatic” global developments since its January meeting, it expected its outlook for inflation and economic activity to broadly hold steady.
“It is primarily the reshaping of trade policy and the strong increase in defence expenditure in Europe in the wake of the changed security situation that are significant to economic developments,” the Riksbank said in a statement.
The central bank sees inflation coming in between 2% and 3% for the rest of this year before declining and stabilizing close to its 2% target in 2026. Economic growth is forecast at 1.9% annually, up from 1% in 2024.
The Swedish krona was down 0.6% against the U.S. dollar and flat against the euro following the announcement.
— Jenni Reid
Swiss National Bank makes quarter-point interest rate cut
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) in Bern, Switzerland, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.
The Swiss National bank on Thursday trimmed its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 0.25%, as widely anticipated.
It follows a 50-basis-point cut announced by the central bank in December, which at the time exceeded expectations. That also marked the fourth interest rate reduction from the SNB since Switzerland became the first major economy to ease monetary policy in March of last year.
The rate decision comes as Swiss inflation fell to an almost four-year low of 0.3% on an annual basis in February, according to official figures.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Norway’s $1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund invests in European property
Covent Garden market in London
Norway’s $1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund — the largest of its kind in the world — announced new investments in European property on Thursday.
In a new joint venture with British property developer Shaftesbury Capital, the fund’s manager Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) said it will pay £570 million ($739 million) for a 25% stake in a London property portfolio.
The deal values the portfolio at £2.7 billion, NBIM said. The 1.5 million square feet properties, predominantly used for retail and leisure purposes, are based in the London districts of Covent Garden and Seven Dials.
London-listed shares of Shaftesbury Capital jumped nearly 16% at the market open.
NBIM also said Thursday that it had agreed to pay 240 million euros for a 40% stake in AXA Lifestyle Housing, an owner and operator of student housing and co-living properties in Spain and France.
— Chloe Taylor
Shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd posts 2024 profit decline, flags ‘challenging’ environment
The Toronto Express container ship, operated by Hapag-Lloyd AG at the Port of Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.
German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd on Thursday reported a 19% slide in annual group profit to $2.59 billion, with CEO Rolf Habben Jansen citing a solid performance in a “challenging market environment.”
Revenue rose to $20.67 billion from $19.39 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was 4.2% higher at $5.03 billion.
The company said it expected group EBITDA to range between $2.5 billion and $4 billion in the full-year 2025 period, with the outlook “subject to considerable uncertainty due to the highly volatile development of freight rates and major geopolitical challenges.”
The shipping industry is currently contending with global trade uncertainty stemming from the White House, while the busy Red Sea route remains disrupted due to conflict in the Middle East.
— Jenni Reid
UK wage growth steady at expected 5.9% ahead of BOE decision
Average wages in the U.K. increased 5.9% year on year across the November 2024 to January 2025 period, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday.
The rate was steady on the previous three-month period and in line with the forecast of economists polled by Reuters.
Wage growth including bonuses came in at 5.8%. The average regular figure was 6.1% for the private sector and 5.3% in the public sector.
The ONS also released broader labor market data showing the rate of unemployment was steady between November and January at 4.4% for the third reading in a row.
The rate of U.K. wage growth is a key consideration for the Bank of England, which meets Thursday and is expected to hold interest rates.
“The latest figures show that the jobs market is not collapsing as some surveys suggest,” Ruth Gregory, deputy chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.
“Yet with wage growth still close to 6.0%, weak employment is not yet feeding through to a marked slowing in pay growth.”
“All this leaves the [BOE] in a tricky position. If the jobs market remains weak, then underlying price pressures should eventually fade markedly. But with wage growth still sticky that will increase the Bank’s concerns about a resurgence in inflation and keep it on its “gradual and careful” interest rate cutting path.”
— Jenni Reid
European markets: here are the opening calls
European stock markets looked set for a mixed open to Thursday’s session.
IG data showed the U.K.’s FTSE 100 opening 0.14% lower at 8,703 points, France’s CAC 40 opening down 0.05% at 8,176 points, and Germany’s DAX opening 0.09% lower at 23,274 points. However, Italy’s MIB was seen nudging 0.07% higher to 39,066 points.
— Jenni Reid
Copper prices hit highest level since October
Copper prices on listed on the London Metals Exchange notched their highest level since October.
The three-month LME copper contract was last seen trading 0.46% higher at $10,028.5 per metric ton.
In a note published Monday, Citi analysts forecast strength in copper prices this month amid temporarily stronger U.S. copper import demand, as well as broader concentrate and scrap supply constraints.
— Lee Ying Shan
China’s central bank follows U.S. Fed in keeping rates steady as tariff threats pressure yuan
China kept its key lending rates unchanged on Thursday, as Beijing juggles propping up growth and stabilizing its currency amid mounting trade frictions.
The People’s Bank of China kept the 1-year loan prime rate at 3.1% and the 5-year LPR at 3.6%, where they have been since a quarter-percentage-point cut in October.
The rate decision follows the U.S. Federal Reserve’s move to hold benchmark interest rates. Fed officials, however, indicated likely half a percentage point of rate cuts through 2025.
Read the full story here.
—Anniek Bao
Weaker growth, higher inflation ‘balance each other out’ in Fed forecast, Powell says
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a press conference, following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 19, 2025.
Fed Chair Powell said the central bank’s forecasts for less economic growth and higher inflation in 2025 somewhat offset each other, explaining the fact that the forecast for rate cuts this year stayed at two.
“At the December meeting, the median was two cuts. So you come in and you see, broadly speaking, weaker growth but higher inflation. And they kind of balance [each other] out,” he said.
Again, Powell emphasized the forecasts are “highly uncertain.”
— Jesse Pound
