FTSE 100 down 0.45%; DAX down 0.61%; CAC 40 down 0.85% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 16 Jul - European shares were lower in cautious midday trade, extending yesterday's losses after a mixed close in Asia and gains on Wall Street overnight. The Stoxx 600 index was down 0.46%.

In the region's stock market dealings most sectors were lower, with miners and auto stocks among the biggest decliners.

A strong close on Wall Street yesterday helped cap the losses after dovish comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell rekindled hopes of an interest rate cut this year.

Powell said the Fed will not wait until inflation hits 2% to cut interest rates, as the central bank's policy works with 'long and variable lags.' 'If you wait until inflation gets all the way down to 2%, you've probably waited too long,' Powell said.

Investors also assessed the impact an assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump at a rally over the weekend that boosted expectations the Republicans will win the presidential elections against incumbent Joe Biden.

Data from betting marketplace PredictIt indicated his chances have ticked higher to more than 65%, putting him in a strong position with just over three months to go before the vote.

On the data front, in July the economic sentiment index in Germany fell to 41.8 points from 47.5 in June, according to the latest survey released by think tank ZEW.

The assessment of the economic situation however improved, rising 4.9 points to -68.9 points.

In May 2024, the eurozone posted a trade in goods surplus with the rest of the world of 13.9 billion euros against a deficit of 0.4 billion the year earlier, according to data from European Union statistical office Eurostat.

Eurozone exports to the rest of the world decreased by 0.5% compared with the year earlier to 241.5 billion euros while the bloc's imports from the rest of the world fell by 6.4% to 227.6 billion.

At 1125 GMT, the London FTSE 100 was down 0.45% at 8,146 points, the Frankfurt DAX was down 0.61% at 18,486 points, the Paris CAC 40 down 0.85% at 7,568 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB was down 0.40% at 34,237 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was down 0.88% at 11,044 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 16-07-24 13:33:17 (0387) 5 NNNN