The European stock market opened unevenly on Thursday. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.2 percent, while London’s FTSE 100 opened up 0.4 percent. In Frankfurt, the DAX was down 0.2 percent, while in Paris the CAC 40 was down 0.3 percent.
According to the news agency Bloomberg, the British pound was the weakest in a year against the US dollar in the morning. The pound had weakened against the dollar by more than one percent. According to Bloomberg, the background is the market’s concern about Britain’s fiscal policy and the balance of the economy.
The pound received 1.23 dollars and 1.19 euros.
Data on the state of German industry was better than expected. According to recent statistics, the country’s industrial production fell by 2.8 percent in November from last year, while the consensus of economist forecasts collected by the news agency Bloomberg expected a 4.5 percent decline. In November, there was a 4.2 percent decrease from last year, according to revised figures.
The minutes of the US central bank Fed’s December meeting were published yesterday. It revealed that nearly all members of the Open Market Committee believed inflation risks had increased, fueling investor concerns that there may be fewer rate cuts this year than expected.
There is no similar risk in China. Consumer prices in the Asian economy rose by only 0.1 percent in December from last year, which was also the expectation of the consensus of economist forecasts collected by the news agency Bloomberg.
The US markets are closed on Thursday due to the former president Jimmy Carterin in honor of who died at the end of December at the age of 100. A state funeral for the 39th President of the United States will be held today.
Source: www.arvopaperi.fi
