STOXX recovers some ground
Miners, tech lead losses
German industrial orders fall in July

Sept 7 Reuters European shares inched higher on Thursday after a sixday losing run, with defensive healthcare and utilities in the lead, as investors grappled with the prospect of U.S. interest rates staying elevated and a sharply slowing European economy.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 index edged up 0.2, having fallen as much as 0.5 earlier in the session.

Investors bought into defensive sectors such as utilities and healthcare, considered relatively immune to economic cycles, while selling mining and energy stocks after economic data this week highlighted slowing business activity in Europe and China.

Equity markets will remain under pressure in the coming months. The story in Europe is stagnation and possibly recession, said Rupert Thompson, chief economist at Kingswood Group.

The weakness in activity means the market is pricing the end of rate hikes and it39;s pretty unlikely the European Central Bank ECB is going to shock the market by raising rates this month.

Adding to the grim economic picture, data showed German industrial production fell slightly more than expected in July.

Interest rate futures imply investors are pricing in a 64 chance that the ECB will hold interest rates next week even as policymakers warned recently that the decision was still up in the air and a rise in rates was among options on the table.

With economic activity declining across the 20…