Central Bank Outlooks Caution European Bourses Midday

07:39 AM EDT, 08/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- European bourses tracked moderately lower midday Thursday as traders awaited clues from the US Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole symposium for global central bankers, highlighted by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's presentation on Friday.

Property and retail stocks led the downside on continental trading floors, while oil shares bucked trends to gain.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was off 0.4% mid-session.

Investors also eyed lagging Wall Street futures, and uneven closes overnight on Asian exchanges.

In economic news, the eurozone composite purchasing manager index, a combination of the continent's manufacturing and services sectors, rose to 51.1 in August from 50.9 in July, rising further above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction, and marking a 15-month high, S&P Global reported.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was down 0.3%, and the Stoxx 600 Banks Index lost 0.3%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index was up 0.7%, while the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index fell 0.5%.

The REITE, a European REIT index, fell 1%, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Retail Index was down 0.7%.

On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was down 0.1%, and the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.2%. The CAC 40 in Paris was off 0.5%, and Spain's IBEX 35 eased 0.6%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were higher, near 2.74%.

Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were up 0.8% at $67.40 a barrel.

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was down 0.7% at 16.48, indicating below-average volatility for European stock markets in the next 30 days, a positive signal. A reading above 20 indicates choppier markets ahead, while below 20 suggests calmer exchanges.

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