(Reuters) – European shares fell on Wednesday, as fears about a global recession overshadowed recent optimism about China reopening, with investors looking ahead to a meeting of major central bank heads for clues on policy outlook.
The continent-wide STOXX 600 index was down 0.7% as at 0708 GMT, snapping a three-day rally following a dour Wall Street session overnight on a gloomy U.S. consumer confidence data. [.N]
Germany’s DAX led declines among other indexes in the region, down 0.9% ahead of a preliminary reading on German inflation at 1200 GMT. Eurozone’s consumer confidence data for June is due at 0900 GMT.
Europe’s miners fell 1.1%, as a recent rally in commodity prices on hopes of resurgent demand from China faded. [O/R][MET/L]
H&M inched up 0.7%, after the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer reported a 33% growth in quarterly profit that beat expectations, as shoppers thronged its stores in the aftermath of the pandemic.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will speak at a panel discussion at the annual ECB forum on central banking at 1230 GMT.
(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
