FTSE 100 down 0.62%; DAX down 0.90%; CAC 40 down 1.02% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 07 Jun - European shares were lower in cautious midday trade, retreating from yesterday's gains. The Stoxx 600 index was down 0.45% in early trade after climbing to record highs in the previous session.

Investors remained on the sidelines as they awaited US nonfarm payrolls data due later today for more cues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate path, after weak US labor market data released this week ramped up hopes that the Fed will cut interest rates by September. The report came a day after the Labor Department said job openings had fallen in April to the fewest in more than three years.

The world's biggest economy is expected to have added 185,000 jobs last month, slightly more than April's 175,000. The unemployment rate is expected to have remained below 4% for the 28th straight month.

Meanwhile, EU-wide elections got underway, with around 400 million people across the region due to vote for members of the European Parliament over the next few days.

The last polls will close on Sunday and provisional results are due later that evening.

Yesterday the European Central Bank cut rates by 25 basis points for the first time since 2019 as widely expected by the markets. The ECB also released new forecasts in which it now sees headline inflation averaging 2.5% in 2024, 2.2% in 2025 and 1.9% in 2026.

Despite the rise in inflation forecasts, investors still believe the ECB is likely to cut interest rates in September.

Speaking after the rate cut, ECB president Christine Lagarde emphasized that the bank is now more confident that inflation is falling toward 2% in the medium term.

US stock futures pointed to a flat open ahead of the Us payrolls release.

At 1125 GMT, the London FTSE 100 was down 0.62% at 8,234 points, the Frankfurt DAX was down 0.90% at 18,478 points, the Paris CAC 40 fell 1.02% at 7,958 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB dropped 0.90% at 34,522 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was down 0.54% at 11,382 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 07-06-24 13:48:26 (0352) 5 NNNN