LONDON, June 1: European stocks sagged on Thursday after staging a rebound the previous day, as German utilities suffered on broker downgrades and British miners took a hit from falling metal prices.

Over the past fortnight, global stock markets have experienced volatile trading on aggressive selling linked to global economic worries over rising inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

Frankfurt’s DAX 30 plunged 1.26 per cent to 5,621.01 points, London’s FTSE 100 index slipped 0.56 per cent to 5,692.00 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index dropped 0.73 per cent to 4,894.33.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares shed 0.93 per cent to 3,603.25 points. The euro stood at 1.2787 dollars.

Wall Street shares had swung higher Wednesday, as investors deemed the latest sell-off an overreaction, bringing a positive close to the worst month in years for the main indexes.

Japanese share prices rebounded slightly on Thursday, lifted by an overnight rally on Wall Street, but worries over recent falls kept a lid on sentiment, dealers said.

In Frankfurt trading, shares in German utility giant RWE dived 2.37 per cent to 65.06 euros in Frankfurt trading after broker Exane BNP Paribas downgraded its stance on the stock to ‘underperform’ from ‘neutral’ and cut its price target to 65 euros from 72 euros.

Recent indications from the major German utilities are that the German regulator is requesting a substantial fall in network fees and there have been reports of suggested cuts of over 15 per cent, said BNP Paribas.

E.ON, the leading German energy supplier, fell 2.44 per cent to 87.80 euros.

German utilities were also in focus as the Berliner Zeitung newspaper reported that E.ON’s offices were searched by officials from the European Commission and Germany’s cartel office as part of an investigation into an anti-competitive agreement with RWE.

In US trading on Wednesday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.67 per cent to 11,168.31 points, but lost some 1.8 per cent for the month.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite advanced 0.65 per cent to 2,178.88 points, leaving its monthly loss at 6.2 per cent, its worst performance since May 2000.

The broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index rallied 0.81 per cent to 1,270.09 points. The index lost 3.1 per cent in the month, its poorest May showing since 1984.

In Wednesday’s trading action, stocks moved higher, recouping a portion of Tuesday’s heavy losses, even as central bank officials expressed rising concern over inflationary pressures in the economy.

In Asian trading on Thursday, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index gained 0.24 per cent to 15,503.74, a day after its lowest close since February 20.

Hong Kong’s key Hang Seng Index closed down 1.34 per cent at 15,645.27 points as investors turned jittery due to fresh worries over volatility in the global markets, dealers said.—AFP