European stocks closed sharply lower on Monday, deepening this month’s selloff as another surge in energy prices further darkened the continent’s inflation outlook. The Eurozone’s STOXX 50 slipped 0.7% to 5,681, while the pan-European STOXX 600 also fell 0.7% to 595.
Banks, industrials, and consumer discretionary companies remained among the hardest hit, pressured by escalating tensions and strikes in the Persian Gulf and a renewed spike in oil and gas prices. UniCredit and Deutsche Bank each declined 1.5% as Eurozone bond yields continued to climb on concerns that the ECB may implement a rate hike this year, clouding the outlook for credit growth.
Siemens and Schneider Electric both dropped 1.7%, with the jump in electricity costs expected to squeeze their profit margins. Outside the Eurozone, Roche slumped 3% after a combination regimen for breast cancer failed to meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage clinical trial.
