(Reuters) - The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed at its lowest level in nearly a month on Tuesday, at the start of a week in which major central banks announce their monetary policies, while energy stocks fell, with Pearson leading declines among media companies.

EDITED BY | HUGH GEY

ECONOMIC SECTION 

3 MAY 2023

 The index fell 1.2 percent to close at its lowest level since early April. Oil and gas stocks fell 4.5%, their lowest close in more than a month, tracking lower oil prices amid concerns about US bond defaults, weak economic data from China, and expectations that the United States and Europe will raise interest rates again this week.
BP shares plunged 8.6 percent after the company scaled back its share buyback plan but made a profit of $5 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

Investors also shied away from risk ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday, which is likely to raise the benchmark interest rate to its highest level in nearly 16 years.

Markets are also eagerly awaiting the European Central Bank's interest rate decision on Thursday, which is widely expected to rise by 25 basis points.

Shares of European media companies also fell 4.2 percent, recording their worst session since late January 2022, after the shares of the online education company (Pearson) plunged 15 percent, after expectations from its American competitor (Check) of an unexpected drop in revenue with students using the application ( GBT chat) based on artificial intelligence.

On the other hand, HSBC Bank rose 3.5 percent thanks to quarterly profits that exceeded expectations.

Logitech jumped 7 percent to the top of the Stoxx 600 after the computer accessories maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

{source}<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-4474625449481215"
crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- moss test ad -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style="display:block"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-4474625449481215"
data-ad-slot="6499882985"
data-ad-format="auto"
data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>{/source}