The DAX chart of the German stock price index is pictured on the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 5, 2022. REUTERS/Staff

April 6 (Reuters) – European stocks fell more than six weeks on Wednesday as investors grappled with the twin worries of an aggressive U.S. interest rate hike that could hurt growth and further sanctions against Russia which are still fueling inflation.

Breaking a three-day winning streak, the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) fell 0.8%, joining stocks on Wall Street and Asia. Losses were widespread, with technology (.SX8P) and China-sensitive luxury being the biggest drags.

US Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said on Tuesday she expects interest rate hikes and a rapid collapse of balance sheets to bring US monetary policy to a “more neutral stance” later on. This year. His comments sparked a sell-off on Wall Street overnight, with Asian stocks also weakening. Read more

“While investors expected the Fed to do something about inflation, it’s the likely pace of action that really worries the market. Tighten monetary policy too quickly and the economy could slide into recession. “said Russ Mould, chief investment officer at AJ Bell. .

“Fears about the strength of the economy in the United States naturally led investors to worry about the state of other geographies.”

Raising concerns about slowing growth, data showed German industrial orders fell more than expected in February due to weaker demand from abroad, supply shortages, price explosion of energy and the uncertainty linked to the war in Ukraine having slowed down manufacturing activity.

Calls for more tightening from the Fed ahead of the minutes of its latest policy meeting come as members of the European Central Bank expressed the need to rein in stimulus to prevent inflation expectations from rising above the central bank’s 2% target. The next ECB policy meeting will take place next week.

Meanwhile, inflation concerns have emerged as proposed EU sanctions against Russia could include a ban on buying coal and barring Russian ships from entering ports in the EU. EU, with the bloc also considering a ban on oil imports.

Election nerves continued to grip investors, with French stocks (.FCHI) tumbling 0.9% after marking their worst session in nearly a month on Tuesday.

President Emmanuel Macron would beat Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election, leading the first round on April 10 and later winning on April 24, according to a poll, although Le Pen has gained ground in recent weeks. Read more

“A phase of volatility obviously cannot be ruled out between the two rounds if the gap between the candidates is small,” said Vincent Mortier, investment director at Amundi.

“However, we remain confident that pragmatism will ultimately prevail and that this election will not be disruptive to markets.”

Among individual stocks, Danish wind turbine maker Vestas (VWS.CO) fell 1.7% after announcing it would pull out of Russia, where the company has two factories.

Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

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