European stocks fell on Thursday as the initial reprieve after the
Bank of England stepped in to calm the markets seemingly faded.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 1.7% in early trade, with retail
stocks dropping 4% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses
slid into negative territory. Sterling has stooped to record lows
against the U.S. dollar in recent days, and slid once again on
Thursday morning, shedding 1% against the greenback to trade at
around $1.078. Global markets saw another volatile trading day on
Wednesday, with stocks trading sharply lower as global markets sold
off on economic concerns surrounding inflation and the growth outlook.
Market turmoil continued to hit the U.K., prompting the Bank of England
to suspend the planned start of its gilt selling next week and begin
temporarily buying long-dated bonds in order to calm the market chaos
unleashed by the new government’s so-called “mini-budget.” That move
calmed markets in the U.S. yesterday, and that, in turn, pacified indices in
Asia-Pacific overnight. U.S. stock futures inched lower
in early premarket trading on Thursday, however.