Stocks traded broadly flat on Monday after a turbulent week as U.S. markets were closed for the Juneteenth national holiday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 traded up 0.4%. That followed the biggest five-day plunge in more than three months. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.4% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7%
Markets endured a bumpy ride last week as the Federal Reserve lifted its benchmark interest rate by 0.75% on Wednesday, the biggest increase since 1994.
The Swiss National Bank raised its rate by more than expected and the Bank of England also tightened. The Bank of Japan kept policy on hold.
Traders are selling off stocks on concern that central banks will slam the brakes on growth to get inflation under control.
Consumer-price gains are running at 40-year highs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused energy prices to soar.
“Investors sense there is trouble ahead for the world economy, given that the priority of the powerful U.S.
Federal Reserve is to stamp out the flames of inflation even if that means extinguishing growth,” analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown wrote in a note.
Oil prices also fell on concerns about the economy. Brent crude, the global benchmark, declined 1.3% to $111.60. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. standard, slipped 0.4% to $109.14.