European markets moved slightly lower Thursday morning, as regional investors await this year’s final monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank (ECB).
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.13% by 11:50 a.m. London time, as most sectors reversed earlier gains to trade in the red. Retail stocks fell 1.06% while food and beverage stocks ticked up 0.66%.
The central bank is heading for its final interest rate cut of the year on Thursday, with economists expecting a 25-basis-point rate cut rather than the “jumbo” 50-basis-point move that was previously expected. The ECB is also due to release its quarterly macroeconomic projections on growth and inflation.
The Swiss National Bank also cut rates by 50 basis points earlier in the session Thursday, exceeding expectations of a smaller trim amid an ongoing tussle with depressed inflation and a strong Swiss franc.
It comes as traders continue to digest the latest inflation data out of the U.S. The figures showed that consumer prices rose 0.3% month on month and grew at a 12-month rate of 2.7%, in line with economists’ estimates.
The producer price index report is due Thursday. The prints mark the last major economic data releases before the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week.
Traders are still betting that the Fed will cut rates; Fed funds futures are pricing in a more-than 98% likelihood that the central bank lowers rates at that meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.
Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher following post-inflation data gains on Wall Street that saw the Nasdaq Composite top the 20,000 threshold, posting an all-time high and a closing record. U.S. stock futures slid Thursday morning.
