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(Sharecast News) - European markets slipped into the red on Thursday amid another earnings dump as investors eyed an emergency meeting of European leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine, a monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank and weak eurozone retail sales data.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.4% at 553. The ECB is widely expected to cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.5% as inflation cools across the eurozone.
Meanwhile, EU leaders will be responding to a decision by the US to suspend military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine in what diplomats said was an effort to strong arm Kyiv into signing a deal on minerals.
The 27-nation bloc will also discuss a ramp up in defence spending as a new arms race develops momentum. German shares surged on Wednesday as the country's prospective coalition leaders put forward plans to relax spending rules in an effort to boost defence procurement - sending government bond yields soaring.
In economic news, retail sales fell in the Eurozone in January, official data showed, as the European economy struggled to gain momentum.
According to first estimates from Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office, the volume of retail trade fell 0.3% in January month-on month.
Meanwhile, the eurozone's troubled construction sector contracted sharply in February, a closely-watched survey showed on Thursday.
February's HCOB Eurozone construction PMI total activity index came in at 42.7, down sharply on January's 45.4 and the steepest drop in output for three months. A reading above the neutral 50.0 benchmark suggests growth, while one below it indicates contraction.
In equity news, German shares were in focus once again, with Deutsche Post surging after the DHL owner unveiled plans to cut ¬1bn in costs by axing 8,000 jobs and increasing its share buyback.
Lufthansa took off as annual results came in ahead of estimates. Shares in Air France-KLM were also sky high as the group's full-year profit beat expectations.
On the downside, French gambling company La Française des jeux slumped after net profits fell 6%.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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