FX.co ★ European Stocks Move Lower

European equities retreated on Thursday, with both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 down 0.3%, erasing early-session gains and extending losses of more than 1% from the previous day. Investors digested the European Central Bank’s latest policy decision, as policymakers raised interest rates by 25 bps in line with expectations and revised their growth and inflation forecasts higher. The ECB also cautioned that the conflict in the Middle East continues to stoke inflationary pressures, and projected that inflation will stay above target for an extended period. At the same time, oil prices continued to climb, with Brent crude trading above $102 per barrel. Technology stocks underperformed ahead of Oracle’s earnings release, which investors expect to offer further insight into the outlook for artificial intelligence. ASML dropped more than 2%, while SAP slipped 2.5%.