European stocks were sharply lower on Wednesday, with weak German data, uncertainty ahead of Sunday's first round presidential vote in France and hawkish comments from Fed Governor Lael Brainard weighing on sentiment.
Markets also await fresh sanctions to punish Moscow over alleged atrocities in Ukraine, something Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky described as "war crimes".
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Business News
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.