FTSE down 0.21%; DAX down 1.42%; CAC 40 down 2.66% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 14 Jun - European shares closed lower, extending recent losses and capping off a losing week, after the latest European Union elections showed a broader shift towards right-wing and far-right parties. France's CAC 40 dipped as investors fretted over a possible victory for the far-right National Rally party in the country's upcoming parliamentary election.

On Monday, in the wake of the European Union vote, where his party lagged Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National, French president Emmanuel Macron has called for snap legislative elections later in June.

France's short-dated bond yields, which move inversely to prices, tumbled by seven basis points.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held the federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.50% but slashed its outlook for interest rate cuts, warning that it expects only one rate cut this year, down from previous forecasts of three. However, the so-called 'dot plot' - a chart updated on a quarterly basis giving each Fed member's prediction on the trajectory of the federal funds rate - indicated a more aggressive cutting path for 2025, with four rate cuts totaling a full percentage point, up from three.

Meanwhile, data released today showed that French consumer prices rose 2.3% year-on-year in May, up from the 2.2% seen the previous month, but only marginally above the ECB's 2% medium-term target.

The London FTSE 100 closed down 0.21% at 8,146.86 points, the Frankfurt DAX fell 1.42% at 18,005.00 points, the Paris CAC 40 lost 2.66% at 7,503.27 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB dropped 2.81% at 32,665.21 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 closed 0.70% lower at 10,988.50 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 14-06-24 18:04:07 (0528) 5 NNNN