European stock futures traded lower on Thursday morning after the US Federal Reserve signaled interest rates will stay higher for longer and as investors awaited a rates decision from the Bank of England.
Contracts for the Euro Stoxx 50 fell a little more than 1%, while those for the UK’s FTSE 100 benchmark were about 0.9% lower by 6:59 a.m in London.
UK stocks are particularly in focus on Thursday, with the BOE set to decide later whether to call a halt to its string of 14 consecutive rate hikes.
Read more: Fed Signals Higher-for-Longer Rates With Hikes Almost Finished
“Clearly the market is shaken by the hawkish tone of the Fed,” said TFS strategist Stephane Ekolo. Investors who had been betting on early 2024 rate cuts were clearly disappointed, he noted. “This morning in Europe the spotlight is on the BOE and uncertainty dominates.”
Investors had fully priced in one more quarter-point increase this year in the UK central bank’s base rate, which is now 5.25%. But a drop in inflation to an 18-month low announced Wednesday raised questions over whether the BOE will deliver that hike today.
