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April 5 Reuters European stocks fell to a more than twoweek low on Friday, tracking a global skittishness in sentiment following hawkish comments from some U.S. Federal Reserve officials and a spike in tensions in the Middle East.

The continentwide STOXX 600 fell 1.2, on track for its worst day since midOctober 2023.

Benchmark indexes across all major European economies such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain also fell over 1 each.

Sparking caution on market expectations for an imminent rate cut, U.S. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said if inflation continued to stall, an interest rate reduction may not be required by yearend.

However, trader bets were still largely pointing towards the first interest rate cut in June by the European Central Bank and the Fed. 0ECBWATCH 0FEDWATCH

Investor expectations for rate hikes haven39;t changed that much on the back Kashkari39;s comments… it really is just noise and investors should focus on what the Fed has been guiding at, said Thomas Gehlen, senior market strategist at Kleinwort Hambros.

While the European economy lagged the U.S., European equities are much more attractively valued than the U.S., he added.

Optimism around a rate reduction by the ECB and the Fed has been the primary…