European Stock Futures Lower; Fed Hike Sets Tone for BOE, SNB

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By Peter Nurse

AiVIF.com - European stock markets are expected to open lower Thursday as investors digest another large interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, ahead of a series of regional central bank meetings.

At 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.3% lower, CAC 40 futures in France dropped 0.4%, and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. fell 0.3%.

The U.S. central bank lifted rates by 75 basis points at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday as widely expected. However, the Fed also signaled that its policy rate would rise by 4.4% by year-end and top out at 4.6% by the end of 2023, a steeper and longer trajectory than markets had priced in.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is now willing to risk weakness in the economy as it moves to rein in inflation. This slowdown is likely to have a wider impact given the U.S. economy’s role as a major global growth driver.

Other major central banks are also expected to hike rates later Thursday to curb high inflation, with the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank, and the Norges Bank in Norway all scheduled to hold meetings today.

The European Central Bank raised its interest rates by 75 basis points last week, and will need to continue doing so despite slowing growth as inflation is too high, said European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel earlier Thursday.

On the flip side, the Bank of Japan decided to stick with its ultra-loose monetary policy earlier Thursday, remaining committed to supporting its economy even as its inflation rises.

The main economic data release in Europe Thursday will be consumer confidence figures for the Eurozone, which are expected to show a deterioration in September to -25.8, from -24.9 in August.

In corporate news, Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) is likely to be in the spotlight Thursday after the Financial Times reported that the Swiss lender has drawn up plans to split its investment bank in three, looking to sell profitable units in order to prevent a damaging capital raise after three years of relentless scandals.

Oil prices edged higher Thursday, rebounding after falling to near two-week lows during the previous session as a combination of inventory stock builds, a tightening monetary policy, and a stronger dollar weighed.

U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.1 million barrels last week, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Additionally, the hawkish stance of the Federal Reserve raised fears of a global recession while also lifting the dollar to a 20-year high, making crude more expensive for foreign buyers.

By 02:00 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.6% higher at $83.41 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.6% to $90.34. Both contracts fell more than 1% on Wednesday, and are on track for the first quarterly loss in more than two years.

Additionally, gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,669.60/oz, while EUR/USD edged lower to 0.9835.