European shares fall amid weak automakers

European shares fell on Thursday in early trading, as a raft of weaker-than-expected automakers’ earnings beat global markets after the Federal Reserve opened the door to a September interest rate cut.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.2%, with the auto sector the worst performer, falling 1.4%.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but opened the door to a September rate cut.

The Bank of England is due to make a monetary policy decision later in the day.