London, Friday, 24 February 2023
After a hotter-than-expected PCE price index from the US boosted hopes the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer, European shares continued to decline on Friday afternoon, with the STOXX 600 index declining 0.7% and Germany's DAX 40 dropping more than 1%.
In business news, the multinational chemical company BASF SE of Germany dropped to the bottom of the STOXX 600 index after warning of a decline in annual profits and announcing plans to cut 2,600 jobs and stop share buybacks.
On the plus side, radiation therapy equipment Elekta shot to the top of the STOXX 600 after its Q3 results beat expectations, and French construction materials company Saint-Gobain rallied after reporting record annual revenue that exceeded analysts' expectations.
As energy costs decline, consumer confidence in Germany has increased for five months running heading into March, and the largest economy in Europe's Q4 GDP contraction was revised upward from the previous estimate.
(Written by: The Decision Maker - Finance editors)
