Central Banks on Deck; European Bourses Slip Midday

06:37 AM EST, 02/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- European bourses tracked moderately lower midday Thursday despite firming tech stocks, as traders awaited pending rate-decisions by the Bank of England and European Central Bank.

Retail stocks also led gains on continental trading floors, while bank and property shares lagged.

On the commodities front, British oil major Shell slipped 0.7% after missing Q4 profit expectations.

Additionally, continental investors eyed muted Wall Street futures, and lower closes overnight on Asian exchanges in the global tech-equities swoon.

In economic news, retail sales in both the euro area and the broader European Union fell by seasonally adjusted 0.5% in December from November, Eurostat reported. On year, real retail sales advanced by 1.3% in the eurozone in December, and by 1.7% in the bloc.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was off 0.3% mid-session.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was up 1.4%, but the Stoxx 600 Banks Index lost 1.1%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index eased 0.6%, while the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index declined 0.1%.

The REITE, a European REIT index, fell 1.6%, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Retail Index was up 2%.

On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was down 0.2%, and the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.3%. The CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2%, and Spain's IBEX 35 eased 1.2%.

Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were higher, near 2.87%.

Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were down 1% at $68.76 a barrel.

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was up 5.1% at 20.26, indicating marginally above average volatility for European stock markets in the next 30 days, a negative signal. A reading above 20 indicates choppier markets ahead, while below 20 suggests calmer exchanges.

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