European stocks struggled Wednesday, along with U.S. equity futures times as investors awaited the outcome of a Federal Open Market Committee meeting and ahead of that, a Bank of England policy decision.
Chip stocks were under pressure after Samsung Electronics executive warned of problems with global shortages.
Stoxx Europe Index 600 SXXP,
slipped 0.3% after a 0.9% gain Tuesday, the biggest one-day percentage increase since March 8. A loss would mark the first in three sessions. The German DAX DAX,
and French CAC 40 PX1,
they were smooth, while the FTSE 100 UKX,
fell 0.4%. The euro EURUSD,
it was stable, while the British pound was GBPUSD,
firmer against the dollar.
US stock futures ES00,
YM00,
they were mixed, with Nasdaq-100 NQ00 futures,
under pressure. The Dow DJIA industries,
and S&P 500 SPX,
ended lower on Tuesday, a day after it posted records, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP,
he got a moderate advantage. Investors do not expect any changes in Fed policy, but will pay close attention to its forecasts regarding the U.S. economy and interest rates.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference will also be a high-profile one as the bond market remains under pressure. Yield on 10-year TMUBMUSD10Y Finance Department,
it went up 2 basis points to 1.632%.
Read: What would make the Fed take a U-turn? Comment: much more than some high-inflation readings
Elsewhere, no change is expected from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, which is expected to keep its prime rate stable at 0.1% and maintain the peak of the ongoing bond buying program at £ 895 billion ($ 1.2 trillion ). TMBMKGB-10Y gilt results,
found at 0.79%, but the year started at around 0.2%.
Read: Bank of England seen as slow about rise in output
Sales of new cars in the European Union fell 19% year-on-year in February, as economic uncertainty and measures to halt COVID-19 emissions weighed on demand, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said.
But BMW BMW,
shares were among the biggest winners, up 4% after German luxury car maker said a group’s pretax profit should be significantly higher than in 2020, as it predicted projected revenue before interest margin and taxes for the car unit comes in between 6% and 8%.
Shares of Porsche PAH3,
Renault RNO,
and Volkswagen VOW,
they were also up more than 2% each.
Shares of STMicroelectronics STM,
STM,
fell more than 1%, and those of ASM International ASM,
fell 0.6%. Chip-related companies were monitoring losses in Asia for companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor which fell 1% and Samsung Electronics, which fell 0.6%.
These losses came after warnings of a chip shortage that has hit the automotive world and could spread to technology.
“There is a huge imbalance of supply and demand in the global IT sector… It is difficult to say that the issue of shortage has been resolved 100%,” said co-chief executive Koh Dong-jin at a meeting shares, according to the Financial Times.
Ferrexpo FXPO iron ore pellet manufacturer,
posted a higher profit for 2020 and suggested another specific interim allowance. Shares fell 1.5%.