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* UK banks struggle after BoE's negative rates talk
* Tech stocks sell off across global markets
* UK's Next adds to string of upbeat retailer earnings
(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar
Sept 17 (Reuters) - European shares broke a four-day winning
run on Thursday, with banks reeling from the prospect of
near-zero interest rates for a prolonged period, while a
technology stock sell-off continued on Wall Street, piling
pressure on European tech shares.
The pan-European STOXX 600 finished 0.5% lower,
easing from a one-month closing high hit in the previous
session, while the German DAX slipped 0.4% and France's
CAC 40 dropped 0.7%.
UK's FTSE 100, dominated by global companies that
bring offshore revenue home, took comfort as the pound slumped
after the Bank of England said it was looking more closely at
how it might cut interest rates below zero.
The blue-chip index, however, closed 0.5% lower, with major
banks like HSBC, Barclays and Standard
Chartered falling about 2%.
The broader European banking index - the worst
performing sector with a 38% decline this year - dropped 1.6%.
"Given the margin-crushing powers of zero-interest-rate and
Quantitative Easing policies, it is no wonder bank shares are
performing terribly," Russ Mould, investment Director at AJ Bell
wrote in a note.
BoE's policy decision followed the U.S. Federal Reserve,
which pledged to keep borrowing costs lower for as long as the
U.S. economy needs to recover from the coronavirus crisis.
However, investors were unsettled by the lack of new
stimulus measures, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said an economic
recovery is expected to slow, requiring continued support from
further government spending.
The World Bank's chief economist Carmen Reinhart said the
global economic recovery from a pandemic-induced recession may
take as much as five years.
Tech stocks continued to weigh on Wall Street, while in
Europe, they shed 1.0%.
Property group Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield slumped
10% to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after announcing plans to
raise 3.5 billion euros ($4.1 billion).
Among the bright spots, Delivery Hero rose 2.4%
after the food delivery group said it would buy the Latin
American operations of Glovo for up to 230 million euros. It
also launched operations in Japan.
Britain's Next rose 4.1% after it raised its profit
outlook for the second time in two months, becoming the latest
retailer to report strong results this week.
Despite Thursday's declines, the encouraging updates from
fashion retailers, buoyant M&A activity and increasing hopes for
a coronavirus vaccine kept the STOXX 600 on course for weekly
gains.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva and Jane Merriman)
