The increasing inflationary pressure and its braking effect on the economy spoiled the buying mood of European investors on Wednesday. Of the dax fell by two percent to 13,627 points. Ahead of the expected release of the US Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes, many investors played it safe and sold stocks. Inflation figures from Great Britain fueled speculation on further interest rate hikes. Investors were hoping for clues as to how large the next rate hike in the US will be from the minutes of the most recent central bank meeting, which were due to be published on Wednesday evening after the stock markets in Europe had closed. Easing price pressures in the US last week fueled speculation that the Fed might be slowing the pace of the rate hike cycle, which had pushed stock prices higher.
The ailing energy group Uniper, which posted a net loss of more than 12.4 billion euros in the first half of the year due to gas supply cuts in Russia, spread bad mood. Shares fell 11 percent. Both in the figures and in the outlook there is not even a small glimmer of hope for better times, said robo-markets analyst Jürgen Molnar.
In view of rising interest rates and high inflation, real estate values weakened across Europe. In Germany, the shares of Vonovia, TAG Immobilien and Grand City Properties lost up to six percent in value.
In Paris, Sanofi shares fell 5.4 percent after the development of a breast cancer drug was stopped. The compound was a flagship drug and a key item in Sanofi’s program, with the potential to power the French drugmaker’s growth from 2025, analysts at Credit Suisse said.
Wall Street fell slightly after the Fed minutes were released. Of the Dow Jones closed 0.5 percent lower at 33,980 points. According to the transcripts, participants at the meeting expressed the expectation that it might take longer than anticipated for the inflation problem to resolve. After a slump in profits and below-expected sales, shares in retailer Target fell 3.3 percent.