European stocks under pressure of Fed’s tendency to tighten, ‎US-Chinese tension

European stocks fell about 1% today, Thursday, as fears of a global economic slowdown and further interest rate hikes dented risk appetite, along with the impact of an escalating trade battle between China and the United States.

According to “CNBC,” the European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.8% by 07:17 GMT, led by losses in the construction and raw materials index, which increased by more than 1%.

Minutes of the US Federal Reserve meeting released on Wednesday showed that the US central bank agreed to keep interest rates unchanged at its June meeting to buy time and assess the need for further rate hikes, even as the vast majority expect it will eventually need more monetary tightening

Meanwhile, investors are closely watching US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s first visit to Beijing today, Thursday, as she is likely to focus on recalibrating relations between the world’s two largest economies after tensions aroused by new restrictions imposed by Beijing on exports of some minerals.

Orders in the German industrial sector increased by much more than expected in May, supported by large orders for ships, spacecraft and military vehicles.

Investors will be closely watching the retail sales data in the eurozone due at 09:00 GMT, and the figures are expected to show an increase of 0.2 in May compared to the previous month, which did not witness growth.

Impresser shares recorded the largest losses on the index, as it fell 0.8% after the Swedish video game group raised 2 billion crowns ($ 182 million) in a share issue aimed at institutional investors.