FX.co ★ European Stocks Extend Downturn

European stocks closed sharply lower on Monday, deepening this month’s selloff as another surge in energy prices further darkened the continent’s inflation outlook. The Eurozone’s STOXX 50 slipped 0.7% to 5,681, while the pan-European STOXX 600 also fell 0.7% to 595.

Banks, industrials, and consumer discretionary companies remained among the hardest hit, pressured by escalating tensions and strikes in the Persian Gulf and a renewed spike in oil and gas prices. UniCredit and Deutsche Bank each declined 1.5% as Eurozone bond yields continued to climb on concerns that the ECB may implement a rate hike this year, clouding the outlook for credit growth.

Siemens and Schneider Electric both dropped 1.7%, with the jump in electricity costs expected to squeeze their profit margins. Outside the Eurozone, Roche slumped 3% after a combination regimen for breast cancer failed to meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage clinical trial.