European shares flat, Croda falls on profit warning

European shares dipped on Friday, rounding off a lacklustre week which saw investors step to the sidelines ahead of crucial updates from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank(ECB), while Croda slid on a tepid profit outlook.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) remained at 460.51 points by 0817 GMT, and was set dip 0.4% for the week.

Investors feared that the Fed could opt for a hawkish stance in its meeting next week, while the ECB is expected to continue to tighten its monetary policy.

Money markets now see a 73% chance that the Fed will skip raising interest rates in its June meeting but will resume rate hiking in July. For the ECB, traders see about a 98% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike next week.

“Our view on the Fed is that they want to pause… We do however, expect the Fed to keep the door open for another hike in July,” Mohit Kumar, a strategist at Jefferies said.

This report’s information was first seen on REUTERS; to read more, click this link.