LONDON — European markets retreated on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes showed further interest rate hikes were not off the table.
European markets
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed 0.9% lower. Industrials fell 2.8% and tech stocks were down by 1.8%. Basic resources and oil and gas were the only sectors in the green, up by 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively.
The European blue chip index closed Wednesday's session down 0.1% as investors assessed U.K. inflation figures along with euro zone second-quarter gross domestic product data.
Swedish gaming group Embracer reversed some of its recent losses, climbing 12.5% to top the index after reiterating its full-year guidance in quarterly results.
Minutes from the July meeting of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee showed officials expressed concern about the persistence of inflation and suggested more hikes to interest rates could be necessary unless conditions improve.
The U.S. central bank raised rates by a quarter percentage point to a range of 5.25% to 5.5% after that meeting, its highest level in 22 years. Markets generally expect that to be the final hike of this monetary tightening cycle, but Wednesday's minutes indicated that officials are wary of calling time just yet.
Shares in Asia-Pacific extended their losses on Thursday following the minutes, and Japan posted its first monthly decline in exports in more than two years amid slowing demand from China and other Asian partners.
U.S. stocks were flat as Wall Street continued to endure a rocky month.
