BERLIN, July 12 — European shares fell for a second session today, hit by worries about an energy supply crunch, while rising Covid-19 cases in China exacerbated fears of a global recession.
Investors are concerned about Russian President Vladimir Putin potentially weaponizing gas in retaliation to Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, said Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard.European gas prices would then remain higher for longer, adding to eurozone inflation already at record highs, and piling more pressure on the European Central Bank, which is expected to hike interest rate by at least 25 basis points this month.
In the United States, June inflation data is expected to come in hot tomorrow, strengthening bets of another 75 bps interest rate hike later this month.