By Barbara Kollmeyer
A previous version of this report gave the wrong date for the Bank of England policy meeting. The story has been corrected.
European stocks struggled on Wednesday, alongside U.S. equity futures, as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
Some chip stocks saw pressure after a Samsung Electronics executive warned of problems with global shortages.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index /zigman2/quotes/210599654/delayed XX:SXXP +1.42% eased 0.1% after a 0.9% gain on Tuesday, the biggest one-day percentage gain since March 8. A loss would mark the first in three sessions. The German DAX /zigman2/quotes/210597999/delayed DX:DAX +1.62% inched up 0.1% and the French CAC 40 /zigman2/quotes/210597958/delayed FR:PX1 +1.64% eased 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 /zigman2/quotes/210598409/delayed UK:UKX +0.27% fell 0.3%. The euro /zigman2/quotes/210561242/realtime/sampled EURUSD +0.0559% was steady, while the pound /zigman2/quotes/210561263/realtime/sampled GBPUSD +0.1983% was firmer against the dollar.
U.S. stock futures were mixed, with Nasdaq-100 futures /zigman2/quotes/210219788/delayed NQ00 +3.57% under pressure and Dow /zigman2/quotes/210407078/delayed YM00 +1.95% and S&P 500 futures /zigman2/quotes/209948968/delayed ES00 +2.77% flat. The Dow industrials /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA +1.76% and S&P 500 /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX +2.47% ended lower on Tuesday, a day after posting records, while the Nasdaq Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598365/realtime COMP +3.33% managed a modest gain. Investors are expecting no changes in Fed policy, but will be paying close attention to its projections regarding the U.S. economy and interest rates.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference will also be a highlight as pressure remains on the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury /zigman2/quotes/211347051/realtime BX:TMUBMUSD10Y -0.18% was up 2 basis points to 1.632%.
Read: What would cause the Fed to take a U-turn? Hint: a lot more than some high inflation readings
On Thursday, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will announce its own policy decision. The central bank is expected to keep its key rate steady at 0.1% and maintain the ceiling of its continuing bond-buying program at £895 billion ($1.2 trillion). Gilt yields /zigman2/quotes/211347177/realtime BX:TMBMKGB-10Y -2.68% hovered at 0.79%, but began the year at around 0.2%.
Read: Bank of England seen as relaxed about rising yields
New car sales in the European Union fell 19% on an annual basis in February, as economic uncertainty and measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 weighed on demand, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said .
But BMW /zigman2/quotes/202432319/delayed XE:BMW +0.65% shares were among the biggest gainers, up 4% after the German luxury-car maker said group pretax profit should be significantly higher than in 2020 , as it forecast projected earnings before interest and taxes margin for the automotive unit to come in at between 6% and 8%.
Shares of Porsche /zigman2/quotes/202769371/delayed XE:PAH3 +0.14% , Renault /zigman2/quotes/200919924/delayed FR:RNO -0.49% and Volkswagen /zigman2/quotes/206919008/delayed XE:VOW +1.76% were also up more than 2% each.
Shares of STMicroelectronics /zigman2/quotes/207734906/composite STM +2.42% /zigman2/quotes/203551318/delayed IT:STM +2.35% fell over 1%, and those of ASM International /zigman2/quotes/201180544/delayed NL:ASM +3.69% dropped 0.6%. Chip-related companies tracked losses in Asia for companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor, which fell 1%, and Samsung Electronics, which dropped 0.6%.
Those losses came after a warning over chip shortages that have hit the global auto sector and could spread to technology.
“There’s a serious imbalance of supply and demand in the IT sector globally…It is hard to say the shortage issue has been solved 100%,” said Samsung’s co-chief executive officer Koh Dong-jin at a shareholder meeting, according to the Financial Times.
Iron-ore pellet producer Ferrexpo /zigman2/quotes/208342608/delayed UK:FXPO +0.74% posted a higher profit for 2020 and proposed a further special interim dividend. Shares fell 1.5%.
Add to watchlist
DX:DAX
Add to watchlist
FR:PX1
Add to watchlist
EURUSD
Add to watchlist
GBPUSD
Add to watchlist
DJIA
Add to watchlist
BX:TMUBMUSD10Y
Add to watchlist
BX:TMBMKGB-10Y
Add to watchlist
XE:BMW
Add to watchlist
XE:PAH3
Add to watchlist
FR:RNO
Add to watchlist
XE:VOW
Add to watchlist
STM
Add to watchlist
IT:STM
Add to watchlist
NL:ASM
Add to watchlist
UK:FXPO
