FTSE 100 down 0.56%; DAX down 0.44%; CAC 40 down 0.55% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 21 Jun - European shares extended earlier loses and were broadly lower at mid-session amid muted global markets as yesterday's rebound lost steam.

The Stoxx 600 index fell 0.64% but was still on track for modest weekly gains after dropping more than 2% last week, when a broader shift towards right-wing and far-right parties in the latest European Union elections and president Emmanuel Macron's decision to call for a snap parliamentary election in France spooked the markets.

Investors looked for fresh direction after a string of central bank meetings yesterday.

The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at a 16-year high of 5.25%, as widely expected.

A majority of economists polled by Reuters recently forecast a cut in August, after the country's July 4 election.

Meanwhile, the the Swiss National Bank cut rates by 25 basis points to 1.25% and said that it is also willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary. The decision follows a similar move in March, when the SNB became the first major central bank to cut rates during this cycle.

Also, the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee of Norges Bank, Norway's central bank, said it decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 4.5% and is likely to keep it at this level until the end of the year, before gradually reducing it.

At 1145 GMT, the London FTSE 100 was down 0.56% at 8,226 points, the Frankfurt DAX was down 0.44% at 18,159 points, the Paris CAC 40 down 0.55% at 7,629 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB fell 0.98% at 33,346 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was down 1.16% at 11,031 points.

On the data front, eurozone business growth in the bloc slowed sharply this month as demand fell for the first time since February, while German business activity slowed in and France's services sector contracted more than expected.

in June the eurozone's purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector fell to a six-month low of 45.6 from 47.3 in May while that for the services sector was at a three-month low of 52.6, down from 53.2 the earlier month, according to data released by S&P Global along with Hamburg Commercial Bank (HBOC).

The manufacturing output index fell to a six-month low of 46.0 from 49.3 in May while the composite output index, a weighted average of services PMI and manufacturing output, was at a three-month low of 50.8, down from 52.2 the earlier month.

The UK's purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector rose to a 23-month high of 51.4 from 51.2 in May while that of the services sector was at a seven-month low of 51.2, down from 52.9 the earlier month.

UK retail sales volumes rose 2.9% in May, well ahead of expectations for a 1.5% increase after a weak April print, while French business confidence held steady for a third straight month.

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(RADIOCOR) 21-06-24 13:57:24 (0376) 5 NNNN