European stocks drift lower; weak German factory x Enroll Now EUR/USD uK100 XAUIUSD FCHI Edo BAT: 0.15% 0.24% 0.22% +0.00% +0.09% 0.02 Investing.com - European stock markets drifted lower Tuesday, as investors fret policy decisions. about slowing global growth and future central bank At 03:15 ET (07:16 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.1% lower, the CAC 40 in France fell 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. dropped 0.1%. Data released earlier in the session showed that German factory orders unexpectedly dropped 0.4% in Apri illustrating the dimming prospects for Europe's largest economy after it endured the first recession since the pandemic over the winter. The final composite PMI index, seen as a good gauge of overall economic health, released Monday, showed that business activity in the eurozone was shored up last month by the bloc’s dominant services industry offsetting a deepening decline in the manufacturing sector. ‘Across the pond, U.S. service sector actviy barely grew in May, suggesting the recent strong growth in this important sector may now be running out of steam in the face of rising interest rates and high inflation. Markets are increasingly looking for the Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes next week, but the European Central Bank appears to stl bbe months away from following suit with inflation remaining a major issue. President Christine Lagarde on Monday cemented expectations of more rate hikes-the ECB also meets next week-by stating that it was too early to call a peak in core inflation despite "signs of moderation" Australia's central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points overnight, waming that inflation stil remained too high in the country and that more policy tightening may still be in order this year.In corporate news, GSK (LON:GSK) stock rose 0.3% after the pharma giant's cancer drug, Jemperli, received approval {rom the U.S, Food and Drug Administration for use. Free Webinar - Master For Enroll Now ‘Today! Dont Miss Out | Ti British American Tobacco (LON: BATS) stock rose 0.8% after the tobacco group stuck with its annual revenue and profi forecasts, betting on steady demand for its vaping and oral nicotine products. Oil prices edged lower Tuesday, handing back some of the previous session's sharp gains as traders retumed their attention to the ‘weakening U.S. economic backdrop after the Saual production cut. By 03:15 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 1.3% lower at $71.19 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 1.2% to $75.81 ‘Saudi Arabia, the world’s top exporter, pledged over the weekend an additional cut of around one million barrels per day from July compared with its production levels in May, in an attempt to boost slumping crude prices. ‘Additionally, gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,876.05/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.0723. Related Ai