Crowds of shoppers and visitors out on Oxford Street on 28th August 2024 in London, United Kingdom.
Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks were slightly lower Tuesday, continuing a lackluster start to September trading.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.25% at 10:25 a.m. London time, with mining and oil and gas stocks both down more than 1%. Media stocks added 0.5%.
Regional markets fell on Monday as September trading got underway, after the pan-European Stoxx 600 index clocked a 1.33% gain for August.
Investors are continuing to consider the outlook for interest rates and markets. Markets have fully priced for the Federal Reserve to begin interest rate cuts in September, with the central bank’s next meeting set for Sept. 17-18.
A slew of U.S. data is due this week, including the purchasing managers’ index, factory orders, jobless claims, nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate.
In Europe, data released by the British Retail Consortium showed total sales were up 1% year on year in August — a moderation from 4.1% growth in the same month of 2023. Food sales were up 2.9% annually in the three months to August, as non-food sales dropped 1.7%.
“Despite summer finally making an appearance, and a slight uptick in consumer confidence, shoppers did not catch-up their spending during August, with total sales growth of only 1% reflecting the challenging retail environment that is likely to dominate for the rest of this year,” said Linda Ellett, U.K. head of consumer, retail and leisure at KPMG.
“Consumer sentiment is gradually starting to improve, but there still remains some nervousness around potential tax rises and the cost of putting the heating back on when the cooler weather arrives.”
U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday, but stock futures were lower Tuesday as traders braced themselves for a potentially tough month ahead after a strong but volatile August.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly climbed overnight as investors assess South Korea’s August inflation numbers, which eased to its lowest level on a year-on-year basis since March 2021.