European Stocks Edge Lower; Bayer Hit by Court Ruling By Investing.com – Investing.com

European Stocks Edge Lower; Bayer Hit by Court Ruling By Investing.com – Investing.com

© Reuters.

By Peter Nurse 

Investing.com - European stock markets edged lower Monday, as investors weighed concerns over a rise in global inflation as well as disappointing Chinese economic data.

At 3:55 AM ET (0855 GMT), the in Germany traded 0.1% lower, the in France fell 0.1%, and the U.K.’s dropped 0.3%.

European stock markets struggled last week after U.S. jumped at the fastest rate since 2008, increasing worries that the Federal Reserve could be forced to start tapering its easy monetary policy earlier than guided.

This weak tone has continued Monday after data showed that China’s economy, the second largest in the world, is continuing to grow but the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic is uneven and still has a long way to go.

Chinese grew 9.8% year-on-year in April, a healthy increase but lower than March’s 14.1%, and increased 17.7% in April year-on-year, below March’s 34.2% growth.

In corporate news, Ryanair (LON:) stock rose 0.8% after the budget Irish airline said there were signs the recovery had begun even as it reported a record annual after-tax loss due to Covid-19 restrictions forcing it to scrap over 80% of its flights last