European Shares Drift Lower Amid France's Debt Woes

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded lower on Wednesday as investors fretted about potential inflationary pressures arising from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariff policies.

It is feared that Trump's economic plans, particularly tax cuts and tariffs, could have a substantial impact on the Federal Reserve's plans to lower interest rates.

Investor sentiment was also dented as the risk premium investors demand to hold French debt rose to its highest level since 2012 amid fiscal and political turbulence and angst over the fate of the new government.

The pan European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2 percent at 504.7 after falling 0.6 percent on Tuesday.

The German DAX slipped 0.3 percent and France's CAC 40 fell 1 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.1 percent.

Just Eat Takeaway.com NV shares were moving lower after the food delivery company revealed plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange on 27 December, citing low trading volumes and high costs, while retaining its primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam.

Grifols plummeted 12 percent after reports that Canadian fund Brookfield is planning to drop its plan to take over the Spanish pharmaceutical firm.

Aroundtown SA, a Luxembourg-based real estate company, surged 6.2 percent after posting strong operational results for the first nine months of 2024. Swiss biotech firm Idorsia soared 8 percent after it unveiled plans to restructure its debt and shed up to 270 jobs.

Johnson Matthey, a British chemicals and specialist technologies firm, slumped 7 percent after posting a drop in sales and profits in the six months to September end.

EasyJet rallied 2 percent as the airline reported a rise in annual profits following a second record-breaking summer.

GSK edged up slightly after receiving approval from EU regulators for its liquid meningitis vaccine Menveo.

French banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale fell 2-3 percent on concerns about France's increasing debt pile.

On a light day on the economic front, new data showed consumers in France were more pessimistic about the future general economic situation in the country.

France's consumer confidence worsened further in November to the lowest level in five months, monthly survey data from the statistical office INSEE showed today.

The consumer sentiment index dropped to 90 in November from 93 in the previous month. Further, the index remained well below its long-term average of 100.