European utilities slide as investors reposition after Fed cuts
By Alban Kacher
Sept 19 (Reuters) -The European utilities sector slid on Thursday, as investors moved to less defensive stocks after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday.
The STOXX 600 Utilities Index .SX6P, which tracks the performance of European utility companies, recorded a 1.8% drop as of 0408 GMT. While most sectors were trading higher among the continent-wide STOXX 600 index .STOXX, up 1.4%, the utilities and telecoms sectors did not follow the general bullish trend.
The two main European utilities, Spain's Iberdrola IBE.MC and Italy's Enel ENEI.MI, fell 1.3% and 1.7%, respectively. Engie ENGIE.PA, falling 2.2%, bottomed out France's CAC40 index .FCHI, up 2.3%. Germany's largest power producer RWE RWEG.DE, falling 3.8%, led losses in the DAX .GDAXI index, up 1.6%.
"It is the defensive aspect of the utilities that is being sentenced. Through a sector rotation effect, investors are moving away from defensive stocks towards more cyclical ones," CIC analyst Arnaud Palliez said.
Thursday's losses could also be explained by the normalization of power prices, that have been receding over the last few days, said Morning Star analyst Tancrede Fulop.
Reporting by Alban Kacher
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