Auto tops sectoral laggard, hits twoyear low
Nvidia drops 4 in US premarket after disappointing forecast
Tariff hikes won39;t shift inflation outlook ECB policymaker
STOXX 600 down 0.6

Nov 21 Reuters Automobile stocks led losses in Europe on Thursday, with geopolitical tensions weighing on overall market sentiment and keeping some safehaven bids afloat, while chip stocks took a hit after sector bellwether Nvidia39;s disappointing forecast.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 index was down 0.6, as of 0930 GMT, on track for its fifth straight session of declines amid uncertainties around the escalating UkraineRussia conflict.

It doesn39;t feel like the UkraineRussia story has developed sufficiently for there to be a marked riskoff … But it39;s just going to keep investors cautious whilst we wait for any further developments, said Fiona Cincotta from Citi index.

Safehaven bids have been on the rise, with gold , the Swiss franc and the dollar edging up on the day.

Despite hitting record highs earlier this year, the STOXX 600 has sharply fallen behind its U.S. counterpart SP 500 in 2024, also dented by likely domestic impacts of Donald Trump39;s U.S. presidential victory, concerns over Chinese spending and the euro zone39;s economic woes.

While an ECB policymaker said tariff hikes under Trump do not shift Europe39;s inflation outlook, a Federal Reserve official noted it is too early to start assessing the election impact on monetary policy.

Auto was the worsthit sector,…