Bottles of Roundup, a brand owned by Bayer, can be seen being sold in a New York City store. June 30, 2022.
Andrew Kelly Reuter
LONDON – European stock markets traded mixed on Tuesday, with stocks struggling to find momentum after a sharp decline on the first day of the new month.
Immediately after the opening bell rang, the pan-European Stocks 600 There is no consensus movement across sectors or major exchanges, with the stock hovering just above the flatline.
Regional stocks fell on Monday, with investors now expecting the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its December 9-10 meeting, a bleak start to the final trading month of the year. Traders are pricing in an 87.2% chance of a quarter-point rate cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Megan Green, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, told CNBC on Monday that the Bank of England was closely monitoring the Fed for potential spillovers.
“About half of the movement in our curve actually occurs entirely outside the UK,” Green told CNBC’s Ritika Gupta on Monday.
The BoE has not promised to cut rates in December, but economists widely expect the central bank to do so given signs of slowing inflation, likely to be further fueled by slower growth and a weaker labor market, in addition to the disinflationary measures in last week’s autumn budget.
Company news, German biotech giant bayer received support from the Trump administration on Monday to curb U.S. lawsuits related to the herbicide Roundup. The company’s stock price was recently up 14%.
The company faces thousands of lawsuits alleging its herbicides cause cancer and other health problems, and has already paid out billions of dollars to claimants.
U.S. Attorney General D. John Sauer on Monday asked the Supreme Court to limit the lawsuit brought against Bayer, upholding the company’s argument that federal pesticide laws preempt claims under state laws.
“The U.S. government’s support is an important step and good news for U.S. farmers who need regulatory clarity,” Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said in a statement Tuesday. “The stakes could not be higher as misuse of federal law jeopardizes farmers’ access to innovative tools and investments across the U.S. economy.”
Bayer acquired Roundup maker Monsanto in 2018 for more than $60 billion.
U.S. stock futures were relatively flat on Monday night after a weak start to December trading, while Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher.
There were no big gains in Europe on Tuesday. Data releases include unemployment rates for Spain and Italy, as well as inflation data for the EU.
