Europe open: Shares lower on Fed rate cut forecast; Atos, Wise plunge

European stocks opened lower on Thursday as investors digested the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision and inflation numbers from across the Atlantic, while shares in Atos plunged again as the troubled French IT firm sold off one of its businesses.

The Stoxx 600 index was down 0.29% in early deals to 521.36. The Fed on Wednesday held the federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.5% and forecast only one rate cut this year, a far cry from the three cuts projected in its March meeting, although its “dot plot” chart indicated more cuts next year worth a full percentage point.

Meanwhile the latest US inflation data showed no change in May, beating expectations of a 0.1%rise. On an annual basis prices rose 3.3%, also below expectations.

In equity news, Atos dropped 14% after it announced the sale of its consultancy unit Worldgrid days after agreeing to a rescue deal that would dilute the holdings of existing shareholders.

Shares in UK money transfer firm Wise slumped almost 17% as it forecast lower income growth in the medium term.

Halma shares jumped as the company reported another year of record profit and revenue after a solid performance in the safety and the environment & analysis sectors.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com