European Bourses End Monday Lower on Geopolitical Turmoil
European stocks opened the week in red following lesser-than-expected economic data from China and increasing geopolitical tensions in the wake of the collapse of the Afghanistan government.
The STOXX Europe 600 closed down 0.5%, and the FTSE 100 in the UK fell 0.9%. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.3%, the Swiss Market Index declined 0.4%, and the French CAC 40 was down 0.8%.
The European Commission authorized a synthetic securitization product under the European Guarantee Fund to support small and medium-size enterprises hit by COVID-19.
The new product, with a budget of 1.4 billion euros ($1.65 billion), will provide 13 billion euros in new lending to small and medium-sized enterprises in 22 member states.
Economists expect the European Central Bank to phase out its COVID-19-related asset purchases by the end of March 2022, Reuters reported, citing its poll results.
In the poll conducted from Aug. 9 to Aug. 13, 15 of the 29 economists expected the ECB to announce such plans in the next quarter.
Britain’s house prices fell 0.3% in August, the first time home prices have declined this year, according to property website Rightmove.
House prices rose by 0.7% in the prior month, while prices also dropped by 0.2% in August of the previous year. The decline followed the conclusion of the stamp duty holiday and a dampening in demand for larger homes.
The UK government plans to lower the cost of NHS Test and Trace tests for green or fully vaccinated amber international arrivals to 68 pounds sterling ($94.23) from 88 pounds.
On the corporate front, Faurecia (EO) jumped over 12% after the French car parts supplier beat rivals to buy Hella (HLE) in a deal valuing the German automotive lighting group company at 6.7 billion euros ($7.90 billion). Under the deal, Faurecia will launch a tender offer for all Hella shares at 60 euros apiece plus a 0.96 euro dividend.
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European Bourses End Monday Lower on Geopolitical Turmoil
