European shares slide at open on rate hike worries

European shares opened lower on Thursday on fears of continued monetary policy tightening, with London stocks falling on uncertainty about the size of the Bank of England's interest rate hike later in the day.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.2% by 0716 GMT, while the FTSE 100 index shed 1.2%.

The BoE is set to raise interest rates for a thirteenth time in a row, a day after inflation data came in higher than expected again, but bets were almost evenly split between a 25-basis-point and 50-basis-point hike.


Rate-sensitive technology shares dropped 1.2%, while a 1.9% fall in auto stocks led declines.

U.S. lawmakers late on Wednesday urged the Federal Trade Commission to finalise new consumer protections for car buyers despite objections from auto dealers who argue the rules would actually raise the cost of buying a car.

In a bright spot, shares of SES SA rose 4.3% after it said that it has ceased merger talks with Intelsat.