European stocks slide 2.8% after weak euro zone data, new UK economic
European stocks were sharply lower on Friday, as investors digested a raft of central bank decisions and a new economic plan from the U.K.
The Stoxx 600 was down 2.8% in early afternoon trading, with all sectors and major bourses trading in the red.
Oil and gas stocks and basic resources were the biggest fallers, both down more than 4%.
Thursday’s market moves come after the U.K. government announced a raft of tax cuts as the country prepares for a recession. Sterling was down 1.8% against the dollar around midday to trade at $1.1048 following the news.
The Bank of England also hiked rates by 50 basis points Thursday — its seventh consecutive increase — and said it believed the U.K. economy was already in a recession.
Also Thursday, the Swiss National Bank hiked its benchmark rate to 0.5%, a shift that brings an end to an era of negative rates in Europe.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, meanwhile, hiked by another three-quarters of a percentage point Wednesday, and indicated that the hikes will keep on coming.
![Bank of England raises benchmark rate by 50 basis points](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107122724-16638453511663845348-25594755755-1080pnbcnews.jpg?v=1663845485&w=750&h=422&vtcrop=y)
U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday, their third consecutive daily decline, and futures were also lower on Friday.
Asia markets, meanwhile, were in the red, with Australian stocks down 2%.
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