UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

ECB minutes on deck; Vestas Wind, Hikma shares slammed lower

European stocks fell Thursday, with bank shares dragged down by doubts about another U.S. interest rate hike in 2017, while investors waited for more details about the policy discussion officials at the European Central Bank had last month.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% to 378.11, led by losses for financial and oil and gas shares. Utility and health care names, however, were higher. A decline Thursday would be the benchmark's first in four sessions. It finished Wednesday's session higher by 0.7% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-bounce-toward-3rd-straight-rise-2017-08-16), aided in part by the euro weakening.

Investors on Thursday swung their attention to the Federal Reserve, as minutes from the central bank's July meeting released late Wednesday raised the prospect the Fed may not raise interest rates again this year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/some-fed-members-say-bank-can-be-patient-on-interest-rates-due-to-low-inflation-2017-08-16). The minutes showed officials engaged in an intense debate about the path of U.S. inflation after a run of unexpectedly low readings.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Bank Index dropped 0.9% on the dimmer rate-hike outlook, as many European banks have operations in the U.S. and higher rates can aid net interest margin. Among European lenders, shares of Deutsche Bank AG (DBK.XE) fell 1.8%, Banco Santander SA (SAN) lost 1.4%.

ECB minutes on deck: The Fed minutes will be followed by the ECB's July meeting minutes, due at 12:30 p.m. London time, or 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

There have been expectations the ECB will start winding down its aggressive monetary stimulus efforts as eurozone growth and inflation picked up earlier this year. Investors were eager to hear what ECB President Mario Draghi would say about that when he appears at the Fed's symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., next week.

But a Reuters report on Wednesday (https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-draghi-idUKKCN1AW0LL), citing ECB sources, said Draghi wouldn't deliver any new policy messages at the conference.

"At the latest ECB meeting, [Draghi] clearly stated that a discussion on tweaks to QE should take place in the "autumn", suggesting we are likely to get some signals on stimulus changes either in September or October," said Marios Hadjikyriacos, research analyst at IronFX, in a note.

"Although a lot will depend on incoming data, we maintain our view that a likely scenario is that the bank removes its QE easing bias at the September meeting, thereby laying the groundwork for a formal announcement in October that the pace of QE purchases may be reduced by the turn of the year," he wrote

The euro fetched $1.1736 compared with $1.1768 late Wednesday in New York.

Read:ECB hints at no hawkish shift at Jackson Hole (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-slides-after-ecb-hints-at-no-hawkish-shift-at-jackson-hole-2017-08-16)

Also read:The pound is 'extremely undervalued' right now, according to UBS (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-pound-is-extremely-undervalued-right-now-according-to-ubs-2017-08-16)

Stock movers: Vestas Wind Systems A/S sank 11% after second-quarter earnings at the Danish wind-turbine maker missed expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vestas-earnings-miss-forecasts-to-buy-back-shares-2017-08-17). The company did said it is launching a new share buyback program.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (HIK.LN) tumbled 12% after the company lowered its revenue guidance (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hikma-sees-tough-competition-in-generics-market-2017-08-17) in expectation of tougher competition facing its generics division.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NOVO-B.KO) rose 2.9% after the company said its semaglutide treatment for diabetes in a late-stage clinical trial met its primary endpoint of cutting down glucose levels.

Indexes: Germany's DAX 30 index fell 0.2% to 12,225 and France's CAC 40 index fell 0.2% to 5,166. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was off 0.2% at 7,419.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2017 05:29 ET (09:29 GMT)

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