Europe retreats as BoE forecast hits London stocks

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The pan-European STOXX 600 index (STOXX) slipped 0.4% by 0710 GMT, with London’s FTSE 100 (FTSE) falling 1.1%.

The more internationally-focussed UK stocks took a hit as sterling rose after the Bank of England kept rates unchanged and warned of possible risks from taking interest rates below zero. [GBP/]

Mining group Glencore (L:GLEN) dropped 4.3% after it decided to scrap its dividend to focus on lowering debt as the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to book a $3.2 billion impairment charge.

French insurer AXA (PA:AXAF) slipped 2.6% after it dropped its 2020 earnings target and said it would not make additional payouts to shareholders in the fourth quarter.

On the bright side, Adidas (DE:ADSGn) gained 3.5% as it forecast a rebound in profits in the third quarter and Lufthansa (DE:LHAG) jumped 4.8% even as said it does not expect air travel demand to return to pre-crisis levels before 2024.