(Reuters) – European shares fell on Friday, dragged lower by weaker commodity prices and mixed earnings reports, as investors assessed the path for monetary policy tightening amid slowing economic growth.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.9% by 0719 GMT, with miners leading the losses as commodity prices dropped on worries about China’s expanding COVID-19 restrictions. [O/R] [MET/L]
The benchmark index closed flat on Thursday after the European Central Bank raised interest rates as expected but said “substantial” progress had already been made in its bid to fight off a historic surge in inflation.
Europe’s technology stocks fell 2.1%, as a rout among Wall Street peers looked set continue after weak forecast from Amazon.com Inc. [.N]
Volkswagen slipped 2.4%, after Europe’s top carmaker said it expected deliveries to be around the same as last year, and reported third-quarter earnings of 4.3 billion euros ($4.28 billion), behind pre-pandemic levels.
Danone inched up 1.3% after it raised its 2022 revenue growth forecast, as the French food group was able to raise prices to counter soaring costs.
($1 = 1.0056 euros)
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
