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Employees monitor financial data on their computer screens as they work the brokerage ActivTrades in London on March 15, 2019. - The pound stabilised after a week that saw wild fluctuations as Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a series of embarrassing defeats in parliament as she struggles to push through her Brexit deal. Having seen it thrown out for a second time Tuesday, she will get a third crack of the whip next week after lawmakers eventually agreed to ask Brussels for a delay to the March 29 deadline for leaving the EU. (Photo by Isabel INFANTES / AFP) Image for illustrative purpose.
European shares edged lower at open on Thursday, weighed down by elevated government bond yields, as a more hawkish stance on rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve dampened sentiment.
The continent-wide STOXX 600 was down 0.2%, as of 0715 GMT, after closing 1.2% higher in the previous session.
The U.S. Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday and pushed out the start of rate cuts to perhaps as late as December, with the central bankers projecting only one quarter-point rate cut this year, down from three projected in March.
Bond yields across the euro zone rose, with the yield on the German 10-year bund, the benchmark for the euro zone, was last at 2.551%.
Most sectors traded lower, with rate-sensitive real estate being the biggest drag, down 0.8%.
Among single stocks, BT gained 2.5% after Mexican magnate Carlos Slim took a 3.16% stake in Britain's largest broadband and mobile operator.
Shares of Wise plunged 19.2% to the bottom of STOXX 600 after the British money transfer company forecast a 15%-20% growth in its underlying income this year, a slowdown on the 31% seen in the year to end-March.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
