European stock indices closed marginally lower on Wednesday as equities took a breather from their recent strong momentum, while investors continued to assess the outlook for the ECB’s policy this year.
The Eurozone’s STOXX 50 and the pan-European STOXX 600 both inched down by 0.1% from their respective record highs in the previous session.
The Eurozone’s inflation rate slowed to 2% in December, as expected, and the core rate unexpectedly fell to maintain soft expectations that the ECB may still lower borrowing costs this year.
The financial sector led the losses, with ING and BBVA losing more than 2% each to set the pace for banks, while Deutsche Boerse fell more than 3%.
In the meantime, defense rallied as threats on Greenland by White House officials and the US seizure of a Russian tanker that broke the Venezuelan blockade lifted geopolitical risks.
Rheinmetall and Leonardo added 5% each, while Thales soared 8%.