(Reuters) – European stocks extended losses for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday as worries about global economic slowdown and higher crude prices spurring inflationary pressures weighed on risk sentiment.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.5% by 0713 GMT, hovering near a one-week low.
The global mood soured as Brent crude prices jumped to over $90 a barrel on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended their voluntary supply cuts, fuelling worries about persistent price pressures. [O/R]
While oil prices pulled back slightly, government bond yields continued to rise, with the German 10-year yield jumping to two-week highs. [GVD/EUR]
Further denting the mood, German industrial orders fell more than expected in July, the federal statistics office said. Euro zone construction PMIs and retail sales data are due later in the day.
Shares of Telefonica rose 3.2% after Saudi Arabia’s STC Group amassed a 9.9% stake in the Spanish telecom giant worth 2.1 billion euros ($2.25 billion), in a move to become its top shareholder.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
