Banks down for a fourth straight session
Focus on U.S. inflation data for cues on Fed steps
Credit Suisse hovers near record low

March 14 Reuters Ratesensitive real estate stocks supported the wider European benchmark on Tuesday after a threeday selloff in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank39;s SVB collapse that sent chills through the banking sector globally.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 index edged up 0.1 after plunging 2.4 a day earlier in its worst selloff of the year.

Real estate stocks climbed 1.6 as investors bought into the sectors that tend to benefit from lower interest rates. Utilities jumped 1.1.

European bond yields fell further as investors bet on reduced policy tightening from the European Central Bank ECB. SVB39;s collapse is widely considered to be due to high U.S. interest rates.

Traders are now pricing in a 25 basispoints hike as the most likely outcome at the ECB39;s policy meeting on Thursday, half the size of the increase estimated with near certainty last week, mirroring the shift in bets of a Federal Reserve rate hike next week.

The next step for the Fed could be guided by U.S. inflation data. Consumer prices cooled slightly in February, data due at 830 a.m. ET is expected to show.

It CPI is a secondary factor this week because of what happened with the banking sector, said Andrew Bell, chief executive officer of Witan Investment Trust.

If we get a slightly poorer figure, I think people will then hope for an outright pause. But if we get a…