European shares rise on hopes of Fed pause; Entain plunges

By Shreyashi Sanyal

(Reuters) -European shares rose on Wednesday, ahead of a broadly priced-in pause in interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, while Entain shares fell sharply after announcing a deal.

The pan-European index rose 0.3%, with the travel & leisure index falling 0.8%.

Ladbrokes-owner Entain plunged 10.1%, falling to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after it said on Tuesday it will buy Poland-based sports betting operator STS Holdings for 750 million pounds ($946 million),

Traders have all but fully baked in the Fed holding rates at the 5.00%-5.25% range later in the day, while giving it a 63% chance of a rate hike in July, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

U.S. inflation data on Tuesday further helped cement bets for a pause in tightening as price pressures showed signs of moderating in May.

The U.S. central bank will release its policy statement at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference half an hour later.

“Today the focus would be on the Fed and Powell’s press conference. We expect the Fed to pause but leave the door wide open for a July hike,” Jefferies strategist Mohit Kumar said.

The European Central Bank will hold its policy meeting on Thursday, where it is expected to hike rates by another 25 basis points to tame stubborn inflation.

Bank stocks, that tend to benefit from higher rates, rose 0.7%. Italy and Spain’s lender-heavy indexes rose about 0.6% each to lead gains among major regional peers.

Markets are looking for more economic data and updates from major central banks to drive a definitive move, as the STOXX 600 stays restricted to a 1% trading range for over a week.

Data showed British economic output inched higher as expected in April, driven by the retail sector and the filming industry.

London’s rose 0.1%.

Shares of Spanish drugmaker Grifols jumped 10.3% to the top of the STOXX 600 after it disclosed a plan to reduce its stake in Shanghai RAAS in a deal that would bring it $1.5 billion.

Logitech (NASDAQ:) shares slid 8.7% after the computer accessories maker said that Chief Executive Officer and President Bracken Darrell is resigning from his role effective immediately.