European Equities: Euro Stoxx 600 Rises While Interest Rates, Central Banks and Automotive Sales Figures Hog Headlines

In Europe, the broad Euro Stoxx 600 index increased by 0.3 percent after a period of trading. Meanwhile, Germany’s DAX index experienced a rise of 0.4 percent and Britain’s FTSE index remained close to zero. The Stockholm Stock Exchange’s OMXS30 index also saw a similar increase of 0.4 percent.

Today, three European central banks will announce their interest rate decisions. While no interest rate cuts are expected for Britain or Norway at this time, Switzerland is already lowering interest rates and may continue to do so in June despite a recent uptick in inflation.

In Britain, interest rate cuts are not anticipated until the autumn, with the Bank of England likely to maintain the interest rate at 5.25 percent. Norway’s central bank is not expected to lower interest rates throughout the year either.

Germany has withdrawn its plans to acquire the German share of Dutch Tennetin from the network operator following over a year of negotiations. Although deals have concluded, there is still a possibility that Germany may purchase a smaller share than initially intended.

In Europe, new car sales declined by 2.6 percent in May with electric car sales dropping by 12 percent year-on-year across the European Union while Germany experienced a significant decrease of 30 percent in electric car sales alone.

Looking ahead, Wall Street is expected to open mixed on Thursday with slight dips for the Dow Jones and S&P 500 while the Nasdaq 100 is predicted to increase by 0.6 percent