European stocks slide, Siemens Energy shares plunge

European stocks opened today, Friday, lower at the end of a week that witnessed many monetary policy decisions from central banks, which supported views that interest rates may remain high for a longer period, while Siemens Energy shares plunged after the company withdrew its annual profit forecast.

According to “Reuters”, the European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.3 percent by 0713 GMT.

The index has lost 2.8 percent since the beginning of the week, as investors internalized the impact of more interest rate hikes from major central banks and the possibility that inflation will remain high for a longer period.

The German DAX index fell 0.7 percent, and led the losses among the region’s indices, with a sharp decline in Siemens Energy’s stock, amounting to 30.3 percent.

The company, which supplies the electric power sector with equipment and services, warned that the impact of quality problems in its wind turbine unit would extend for years.

The European oil and gas index fell 1.7 percent and led the declines of the sub-sectors on the European index