European shares fell on Thursday as banks slid to a more than three-month low, while a fresh bond selloff and elevated oil prices stoked fears that higher inflation could hurt economic growth.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.9% to 624.24 points, as of 0723 GMT.
European banks dropped nearly 2%, with Deutsche Bank, Banco Santander, Societe Generale and Unicredit all falling for a second day as euro zone bond yields climbed towards their recent peaks. [GVD/EUR]
Oil prices climbed more than 3% on persistent concerns about supply from the key Middle East producing region, while a hurricane threat to US offshore operations prompted production cuts. [O/R]
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed officials were divided over the case for further rate hikes. Attention now turns to Europe, where markets will parse the European Central Bank's latest meeting accounts for clues on the policy outlook.
Several ECB and Fed officials are scheduled to speak later in the day, alongside Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.
Among individual stocks, Bavarian Nordic gained 2.9% after the Denmark-based biotechnology firm raised its 2026 revenue guidance and EBITDA margin forecasts.
(Reporting by Sudeshna Ghoshal in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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