By Sudeshna Ghoshal
Sept 18 (Reuters) – Europe’s STOXX 600 slipped on Friday, led by losses in telecom stocks, but remained on track for modest weekly gains in a week marked by a retreat in oil prices and interest rate decisions by several central banks.
The pan-European benchmark dipped 0.3% to 640.63 points by 0840 GMT, after rising more than 1% in the last two sessions.
Telecommunication stocks were down 2%, with Airtel Africa falling 8.7% to become the STOXX’s top decliner after Bloomberg News reported that its unit Airtel Money is considering downsizing its London IPO.
Food and beverages lost 1.1%, with Nestle down 1.3% after Russia seized control of the Swiss food giant’s local assets.
Insurers fell 1.2%, with Switzerland’s Helvetia Baloise, UK’s Prudential and Legal & General all down around 2% each.
Energy shares shed 0.6% as oil prices fell for a third day on hopes of limited Saudi supply disruptions, but remained over the $100-per-barrel level.
Technology shares were a bright spot, up 0.6%, with chip-related companies Aixtron and Infineon Technologies leading sectoral gains.
Despite Friday’s pullback, the STOXX was on track for its first weekly gain in three, in a week packed with interest rate decisions from several major central banks including the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.
The Fed hiked rates for the first time in three years, while the Bank of England held rates steady, both widely anticipated.
Meanwhile, European healthcare stocks were on track to be the best-performing sector this week, followed by insurance, while financial services and retail were set to be the worst hit.
A respite in selloff in the bond market this week, along with receding crude prices helped risk sentiment, despite the Fed’s rate hike.
“In the coming days, it will be interesting to hear from different Fed members … to understand how they see the economy and the balance between growth and inflation,” said Valentin Bissat, chief economist at Mirabaud Asset Management.
Also on the radar are developments ahead of next week’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Among individual stocks, Orange dipped 4.5% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the French telecoms company to “underweight” from “equal-weight”.
LPP climbed 6.2% after Poland’s largest fashion retailer reported a 64% rise in second-quarter net profit.
(Reporting by Sudeshna Ghoshal in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Diti Pujara)
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