BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The majority of the European markets ended Wednesday's session in the red, adding to the losses of the previous session. Technology stocks struggled after a worldwide cyber-attack. Investor sentiment also took a hit after the U.S. Senate decided to postpone voting on a new health-care bill. The move has traders concerned about President Trump's ability to implement his policies.
The euro declined against its major opponents in the European session on Wednesday, after a media report showed that the market had misinterpreted remarks by the European Central Bank Mario Draghi as a signal towards reducing the monetary stimulus.
Draghi was intending to strike a balance between recognizing the bloc's economic strength and the need for continued monetary support, Bloomberg reported citing ECB officials.
The ECB sources said that Draghi was aiming to strike a balance between the bloc's economic growth and inflationary slowdown and not an imminent policy tightening.
Meanwhile, monetary stimulus may need to be withdrawn to some extent in future, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said Wednesday, implying interest rates may be raised, altering his stance from earlier this month when the bank left the interest rate and asset purchases unchanged.
'Some removal of monetary stimulus is likely to become necessary if the trade-off facing the MPC continues to lessen and the policy decision accordingly becomes more conventional,' Carney said during a panel discussion at a European Central Bank forum on central banking in Sintra, Portugal.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 0.02 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.05 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.12 percent.
The DAX of Germany dropped 0.19 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.11 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.63 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.04 percent.
In Paris, Legrand rallied 0.99 percent after it agreed to buy U.S. infrastructure company Milestone.
Saint Gobain decreased 0.08 percent after a global cyber attack infected its systems.
In London, Hargreaves Lansdown lost 2.39 percent after the Financial Conduct Authority proposed sweeping changes to the £7 trillion asset management industry in order to improve transparency and offer greater protection for investors.
Bunzl climbed 1.69 percent. The distribution and outsourcing group reported a 7 percent rise in first-half revenue at constant exchange rates, boosted by underlying growth and acquisitions.
Consumer electronics giant Philips Electronics fell 1.74 percent in Amsterdam after announcing a definitive merger agreement to buy Spectranetics Corp. for an enterprise value of 1.9 billion euros.
ABN Amro dropped 1.29 percent as the Dutch government reduced its stake in the bank to 63 percent.
Nestle advanced 1.30 percent in Zurich after launching a 20bn Swiss franc (£16.3bn) share buyback program.
Intesa Sanpaolo rose 2.32 percent in Milan as S&P reaffirmed the short and long-term ratings of the Italian lender.
Germany's import price inflation eased at a faster-than-expected pace in May after remaining stable in the prior month, figures from Destatis showed Wednesday. Import prices climbed 4.1 percent year-over-year in May, slower than the 6.1 percent steady rate of increase in April. Economists had expected the inflation to moderate to 4.6 percent.
French consumer confidence strengthened to a decade high in June, survey results from the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday.
The consumer sentiment index rose to 108 in June, the highest since June 2007, from revised 103 in May. A peak of optimism was similarly recorded for previous presidential elections, Insee said. The score was forecast to rise slightly to 103 in June from May's initially estimated value of 102.
Spain's retail sales continued to expand in May, figures from the statistical office INE showed Wednesday. Retail sales grew by adjusted 2.4 percent year-on-year in May, faster than the 1.9 percent rise seen in April.
UK house prices increased in June after declining for three straight months, the Nationwide Building Society reported Wednesday. House prices advanced 1.1 percent month-on-month, reversing a 0.2 percent fall in May. Economists had forecast a marginal 0.1 percent rise.
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in May, a hopeful sign for the economy, the U.S. Census Bureau in its advanced report on international trade said Wednesday. The international trade deficit was $65.9 billion in May, down $1.2 billion from $67.1 billion in April.
Pending home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased for the third consecutive month in May, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday. NAR said its pending home sales index fell by 0.8 percent to 108.5 in May from a downwardly revised 109.4 in April. Economists had expected the index to climb by 0.8 percent.
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