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European markets were lower early Wednesday, with market sentiment rattled by stumbling U.S. debt ceiling talks.
The Stoxx 600 index was down 1.4% at 9 a.m. in London, with all sectors in decline and France’s CAC 40 down 1.5%. Autos stocks led sector losses, down 2.2%.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he had a “productive” discussion with President Joe Biden on Monday, but there were few indicators of progress made in negotiations on Tuesday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen previously warned lawmakers that a default in early June is “highly likely.”
Markets were downbeat globally, with Asia-Pacific shares falling and U.S. futures lower.
U.K. inflation figures ,out Wednesday morning showed a sharp fall in the headline rate from 10.1% to 8.7%, though this was above a Reuters consensus estimate of 8.2%. Prices rose 1.2% month on month, above a forecast of 0.8%.
Inflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages eased very slightly, but remained sky-high at 19.1%.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday joined the Bank of England in saying it no longer expects a U.K. recession this year.
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