TOP 5 news of the week - exclusive materials of TeleTrade

European stock markets declined on Monday, as investors prepared for a week full of meetings of central banks, including the US Federal Reserve. All the most important news is in our top!

The end of the ECB's increase cycle

The new trading week started on a cautious note, returning some of the previous week's gains, when investors calmed down amid the fact that the European Central Bank has almost finished raising interest rates.

The ECB raised interest rates on Thursday to a record high of 4%, but an accompanying press release hinted that the increase would probably be the last, as the eurozone economy is experiencing difficulties.

On Monday, ECB leaders Luis de Guindos, Frank Elderson and Fabio Panetta made speeches. Their comments will be examined for the degree of disagreement of the hawkish members of the group with the signs of the end of the annual rate hike cycle.

Fed meeting

A number of major central banks are holding policy-setting meetings this week, including the Bank of England on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday.

However, the main event will be the meeting of the Federal Reserve System on Wednesday, at which the US central bank is expected to announce the suspension of a series of interest rate hikes.

U.S. consumer inflation rose 0.6% month-on-month last month, the biggest gain since June 2022, driven by higher gasoline prices. Given this, the Fed is likely to maintain its hawkish outlook and may signal a rate hike for a longer period.

Difficulties for Chip Manufacturers

Back in Europe, shares of Nordic Semiconductor fell by almost 15% after lowering its revenue forecast for the third quarter.

However, its problems are not unique, judging by a Reuters report, which says that Taiwan's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's largest contract manufacturer of chips, has asked suppliers to postpone deliveries amid concerns about slowing demand.

Societe Generale shares fell almost 6% after new CEO Slavomir Krupa promised to cut costs to increase profits by 2026 amid stagnant sales in the first strategic plan for France's third-largest listed bank.

Crude oil continues to grow

Oil prices rose on Monday, continuing to rise amid expectations of a tightening of the market situation ahead of a series of central bank policy meetings this week.

Crude oil prices have risen by more than 30% in the last three months after a reduction in supplies from Saudi Arabia and Russia, which could lead to a significant shortage in the market in the fourth quarter.

Traders will follow the decisions and comments of central banks on interest rate policy (including the Fed), as well as key economic data from China.

U.S. crude futures rose 0.8% to $90.70 per barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.6% to $94.51.

In addition, gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,948.95 per ounce, while the EUR/USD pair was trading up 0.1% to 1.0665.

Chinese police detained Evergrande employees

Police in southern China detained several employees of the asset management unit of China Evergrande Group. A new investigation is expected, which could exacerbate the problems of the real estate giant.

During the protests of disgruntled investors at Evergrande's headquarters in Shenzhen in 2021, employees identified Du Liang as the general manager and legal representative of Evergrande's asset management division.

The Reuters news agency could not confirm that Du was among the detainees, and the police statement did not specify the number of detainees, the charges brought or the date of their detention.

Moody's on Thursday lowered its forecast for China's real estate sector from stable to negative, citing economic problems. According to Moody's, they will lead to a decline in sales, despite government support.

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