EUROPE Market trades lower on fears over Fed's policy path

European stock markets were mostly lower on Tuesday, 06 December 2022, following declines on Wall Street overnight, as stronger-than-expected US economic data reinforced the belief among investors that the Federal Reserve might stick longer with aggressive interest rate rises.

At 11:55 GMT, the pan European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.35% to 440.10. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index fell 0.32% to 7,543.40. France's CAC 40 index shed 0.25% to 6,680.08. Germany's DAX index dropped 0.24% to 14,412.63. Switzerland's Swiss Market index dropped 0.36% to 11,154.47.

Cautious traders are staying on the sidelines ahead of a slew of central bank rate decisions including from the Fed and the Bank of England next week.

Data released on Monday showed U.S. services industry activity unexpectedly picked up in November following a robust U.S. payrolls report published Friday - all of which raised doubts over whether the Fed would continue raising interest rates decisively.

Back to home, Ashtead Group shares rose after the equipment rental firm raised its interim dividend by 20%, while also raising its full-year revenue forecast.

Upper Crust owner SSP Group rose after it said its average sales rose above pre-pandemic levels as more people returned to work and holiday demand picked up from pandemic lows.

ECONOMIC NEWS: UK construction companies signalled a renewed slowdown in business activity growth during November, reflecting subdued demand and reduced risk appetite among clients. A number of survey respondents noted that higher borrowing costs and worries about the economic outlook had curtailed construction activity. At 50.4 in November, the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global / CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - which measures month-on-month changes in total industry activity - registered above the 50.0 no-change mark for the third month running. However, the index was down from 53.2 in October and pointed to the weakest performance since August.

COMMODITY NEWS: Crude oil prices edged up, as the implementation of sanctions on Russian seaborne crude oil eased concerns about oversupply, while the relaxing of China's COVID curbs bolstered the demand outlook. Brent crude futures ticked up 0.36% to $82.96 a barrel. U.S. crude rose 0.62% to $77.36.

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