European stock markets opened lower Friday, rounding off a week in which escalating tensions in the Middle East and repricing of interest rate expectations have been in focus.index was 0.6% lower in early deals, with industrials and construction stocks both down 1.3%. After a strong start to 2024, the index is heading for its first monthly loss since October.
European Central Bank voting member François Villeroy de Galhau told CNBC on Thursday that the institution should cut interest rates in June to avoid falling behind the inflation curve, in a message that echoed ECB President Christine Lagarde.But markets have become significantly less confident there will be a June cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve or Bank of England, after two hotter-than-expected inflation prints.
"The question is the next Governing Council which will be early June ... and here barring a major surprise we should cut rates because we are now confident enough and increasingly confident about the disinflationary path in the euro area," Bank of France Governor Villeroy told CNBC's Karen Tso on Thursday.
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