European shares end lower, wraps week in negative territory as omicron worries jitter



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European shares end lower, wraps week in negative territory as omicron worries jitter

On Friday, a basket of European bourses had winded up the session in a negative territory, mostly heaved down by a decline in bank and luxury stocks, as major Central Banks across the globe had signaled a hawkish tone in a bid to tackle a blistering inflation-surge with frets over a rapidly spreading Omicron variant weighing heavily on investors’ morale.

Apart from that, as major European stock indices had concluded the week in red inks, regional pan-European STOXX declined 0.6 per cent followed by a maverick rally on Thursday, when the ECB (European Central Bank) had pledged to a sustenance in monetary support for the economy despite an inflation-surge rippling across the board.

On top of that, in the latest flashpoint to foster a hawkish move by major Central Banks to address a robust build-up in price pressures, economic data had shown earlier in the day that the 26-member bloc’s key inflation indicator had soared to a record in November, vindicating Central Banks’ move to pull the inflation indicators lower.

Besides, concerns over a rapidly spreading Omicron variant had prompted investors to jump on the bandwagon of a weekend profit-taking rally.

Major European stocks end lower amid hawkish move from Cen. Banks

Citing statistics, in the day’s European market closure, London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 added 0.13 per cent to 7,269.92 and French CAC 40 curbed 1.12 per cent to 6,926.63, while Frankfurt’s DAX dwindled 0.67 per cent to 15,531.69.

Elsewhere in the Europe, Italy’ FTSE MIB jolted 0.64 per cent to 26,611.41, while Madrid’s IBEX 35 muzzled 0.82 per cent to 8,311.60. On the week, London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.30 per cent, French CAC 40 lost 0.93 per cent and Frankfurt’s DAX declined 0.59 per cent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB dropped 0.41 per cent and Madrid’s IBEX 35 muddled 0.58 per cent.

Meanwhile, addressing to a growing uncertainty in major European bourses, a Chief Market Analyst at IG, Chris Beauchamp said, “Macro concerns might be playing a part but a lot of investors have been edging towards the door for some days now, and the lack of any lasting bounce in stocks this week has meant that more are looking for ways to book gains ahead of the two volume-light weeks”.

Europe