European stocks, with the exception of London, moved with losses yesterday, as investor sentiment was affected by a sharp drop in the value of shares of BNP Paribas, the largest bank in the eurozone. However, losses in the mining and luxury goods sectors eased as the latest production data from China, which is heavily dependent on both sectors, eased concerns about a possible slowdown in its growth. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended down -0.74%, in London the FTSE 100 closed up 0.49% and was the only one, while in Frankfurt the DAX closed down -0.39%, CAC 40 from -0.46%. , with -0.59% FTSE MIB in Milan and -0.76% in Madrid IBEX. STOXX 600, although it closed yesterday, gained 0.4% intra-session. The share price of the French bank BNP Paribas showed losses in the region of 4.2%, as the responsible body of the Belgian public said that the country is preparing to sell a third of its stake in the former, which has a stake of 7.8%. It is worth noting that the sectoral index of banks yesterday fell by 1.6%, stepping back from record multi-year levels in the Tuesday session. Yesterday, the general sentiment in the STOXX 600 was also reflected in the utilities sector, where Iberdrola shares fell 2.3% and British National Grid fell 3%, while the sector index lost 2.6%.

In London alone, the FTSE 100 ended the session up 0.49%.

It is recalled that the shares of European groups started the year strongly thanks to the relief caused by China’s decision to lift the most severe restrictions due to the pandemic. And it was interpreted as new hope for a recovery in international demand. In February, the pan-European STOXX 600 ended the fourth month in a row in a five-month period with a positive sign, helped by bank shares. Despite this, under these conditions, investors do not choose riskier assets, as they fear that measures to tighten monetary policy by the ECB administration, seeking to curb inflation, will continue. Finally, the euro strengthened 0.8% against the dollar to $1.0659.