This photo, taken in Paris on March 3, 2024, shows the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower and the city skyline on cloudy weather. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI/AFP) (Photo by STEFANO RELLANDINI/AFP via Getty Images)
Stefano Relandini | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks plunged on Friday, capping a tumultuous week that brought a flood of new information to investors.
this Stoke 600 The London index opened slightly higher but was down 0.9% as of 11am, keeping the region’s benchmark on track for one of its worst weeks so far this year.
French stock markets plunged 2.25% after French President Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly decided to call domestic parliamentary elections, with investors still uneasy about the possibility of a victory for the populist, far-right National Rally party. The country’s short-term bond yields, which move inversely to prices, fell seven basis points.
In the United States, both sets of inflation data this week, the consumer price index and the producer price index, were lower than expected, boosting the U.S. stock market. In between the data, the Fed kept interest rates steady and revised its outlook for rate cuts to only one such curb in 2024.
According to LSEG data, money market pricing continues to indicate that interest rates are expected to be cut by 25 basis points twice from the current range of 5.25%-5.5% before the end of the year.
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