European shares slip after three-day gain as rise in oil, yields weigh

[BENGALURU] European shares edged lower on Wednesday (Oct 7) after three straight sessions of gains, as higher oil prices and an ascent in global bond yields weighed on sentiment.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.4 per cent to 633.98 points by 0823 GMT, with tech and mining stocks leading declines.

Oil prices climbed almost 1 per cent as the market weighed supply constraints from a storm heading for US oil-producing regions and attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia against increased supplies of Middle East crude.

US and European bond yields edged higher, and French spreads widened on lingering concerns about France’s deteriorating fiscal situation ahead of 2027’s presidential election.

Among individual stocks, Britain’s Pennon Group shed 15.4 per cent after the water utility firm launched a fully underwritten 550 million pound (US$728.5 million) rights issue and lowered its dividend in a bid to fix operational problems. REUTERS