European stocks fell in a broad decline as traders were cautious before the Dutch elections and a Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.3 percent at 8:35 a.m. in London, with 18 of 19 sectors lower. The benchmark ended Monday just 0.3 percent below its highest close of the year, propelled by gains in commodity producers. The U.K.’s FTSE 250 slipped from yesterday’s record-high close.
* With just one day to go until the Federal Reserve’s rate decision, futures traders held fast to their wagers that an interest-rate increase is a virtual certainty; policy updates from central banks in the U.K., Switzerland and Japan will follow.
* Shares in commodity producers slumped 0.5 percent Tuesday; Morgan Stanley said in a note it’s a “patient bull” on raw materials. Precious metals are the bank’s top commodity pick, with nickel its preferred base metal.
* The Dutch benchmark AEX Index had its highest close since 2007 on Monday. Opinion polls were split on Monday, with two showing Rutte’s Liberals ahead of the anti-Islam, anti-European Union Freedom Party and the other showing the two parties tied.
* The FTSE 100 wasn’t fazed by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s calls for a second independence referendum. The index closed 0.3 percent higher Monday.
ArcelorMittal (MT) ended last trading session with a change of 5.73 percent. It trades at an average volume of 15.95M shares versus 17.46M shares recorded at the end of last trading session. The share price of $8.85 is at a distance of 128.09 percent from its 52-week low and down -5.55 percent versus its peak. The company has a market cap of $27.45B and currently has 3.1B shares outstanding. The share price is currently -0.37 percent versus its SMA20, 6.62 percent versus its SMA50, and 31.3 percent versus its SMA200. The stock has a weekly performance of 1.26 percent and is 21.23 percent year-to-date as of the recent close.
BP p.l.c. (BP) recently recorded -0.76 percent change and currently at $34.07 is 27.71 percent away from its 52-week low and down -10.36 percent versus its peak. It has a past 5-day performance of 0.29 percent and trades at an average volume of 6.5M shares. The stock has a 1-month performance of 0.67 percent and is -7.25 percent year-to-date as of the recent close. There were about 3.15B shares outstanding which made its market cap $107.24B. The share price is currently 0.68 percent versus its SMA20, -3.25 percent versus its SMA50, and 0.96 percent versus its SMA200.