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European markets fall amid US inflation fears as GSK rises after settlement.
European markets slipped on Thursday as investors reacted to fresh U.S. inflation data that exceeded expectations. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.18%, while most sectors were in the red at the main exchanges.
Insurance stocks advanced 1.06%, lifted by the ferocity of Hurricane Milton in its assault on Florida, which should portend a brighter year for investors in that sector. Technology stocks fell 1%, retreating from early week gains. Shares of British pharmaceutical giant GSK advanced 3.2% Thursday after announcing a settlement to pay up to $2.2 billion to resolve a U.S. lawsuit related to its heartburn treatment, Zantac.
On the economic side, German government estimated the country's first two-year recession in nearly two decades. The US Inflation rises for the month of September 2019, which increased by 0.2% month-over-month, the fresh data from the Labor Department Consumer Price Index surprised economists. It read at the annual inflation rate of 2.4%, and both readings surpassed the Dow Jones consensus by 0.1 percentage points.
This inflation data is going to be the basis on which the Federal Reserve makes policy decisions at its meeting to be held this November. Trading data currently suggests a near 70% chance of a rate cut by a quarter point. Stocks open lower in U.S. markets and, according to other sources, Asia-Pacific markets mostly remained higher led by Wall Street's gains from a day earlier.
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