(Reuters) – European shares opened lower on Monday, as greenback-priced commodities lost their appeal on a firmer U.S. dollar, while investors braced for key inflation data expected this week from the euro zone and the United States.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.2% by 0823 GMT, following a record-high close for the broader European market on Friday.
The basic resources sub-index led the losses with a 1.4% drop, followed by oil and gas stocks with a 0.8% slide, as prices of most metals and crude oil slipped after the dollar rose on market views that higher-than-expected inflation could delay cuts to interest rates. [MET/L] [O/R]
This week, investors will look out for euro zone consumer confidence print, business activity data and figures on the region’s consumer prices for the month of February.
Across the Atlantic, Federal Reserve’s favoured core measure of personal consumption expenditures (PCE) prices for January, and February factory output data will be on investors’ radar.
French investor Xavier Niel and his Iliad telecoms group have agreed to buy a 19.8% stake in Swedish telecoms operator Tele2 for 13 billion crowns ($1.26 billion). Shares of Tele2 advanced more than 9%.
(Reporting by Khushi Singh; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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