European stocks slip before ECB as U.S. futures gain

European equities slipped ahead of a European Central Bank decision that will put the region’s monetary policy on a path of tightening and help close the gap with global peers.

The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.5 per cent, with property firms and retailers leading declines. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts pushed higher after Wall Street snapped a two-day climb. Stocks in China and Hong Kong -- including a fizzling tech rally -- sapped Asian shares.

While officials are not expected to raise official borrowing costs, President Christine Lagarde signaled in a blog post last month that the central bank will end bond purchases this month, and hike once in July and again in September, lifting the deposit rate from minus 0.5 per cent to zero. 

Some investors see a new tone reaching beyond the official line as central bankers succumb to huge pressure to rein in record inflation at more than four times their target of 2 per cent. Peers at the Federal Reserve, Bank of Canada and Reserve Bank of Australia have hiked in 50-basis point increments this year.