European shares declined on Thursday, mirroring Wall Street's overnight losses, triggered by the U.S. Federal Reserve's indication of prolonged higher interest rates
The pan-European index dropped by 0.6% at 0808 GMT, with travel and leisure stocks experiencing a significant 2.1% decrease
The Nasdaq, dominated by tech stocks, witnessed the most significant losses on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve maintained key interest rates as expected, but cautioned about ongoing inflation challenges
Sectors linked to commodities, such as mining and energy, both saw declines of over 1%, mainly due to weakened metal and crude prices in the face of a stronger dollar
The UK's stock market eased by 0.5% ahead of the Bank of England's critical policy decision scheduled for 11:00 a.m. GMT
potentially impacting a series of rate hikes initiated since December 2021, following an unexpected drop in inflation data
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) chose to maintain its policy interest rate at 1.75%, surprising many, while Sweden and Norway's central banks increased their key policy rates by a quarter percentage point
Swiss stocks managed to gain 0.5%, while shares in Sweden and Norway experienced declines of 0.8% and 1.0%, respectively
Ocado's shares fell by 7.2% following a downgrade by Exane, citing concerns about sluggish growth in its retail business, despite a recent rally
Retailer Next, on the other hand, witnessed a 2.2% rise in its stock price after increasing its annual profit guidance