European companies hoping their shares benefit from the World Cup may not fare so well.
Shares of Puma, a German sporting- goods maker, and William Hill, a British bookmaker, reached record highs last month. Investors said they expected sales to rise because of the soccer matches starting in Germany this week.
But stocks that had been expected to rise because of the World Cup have declined across European markets on concern that increasing interest rates would hurt consumer spending.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index fell last week and slumped the most in more than three years in May.
"There's a real increase in sales because of the World Cup, but it's overestimated," said Moudy El-Khodr at ING Investment Management in Brussels. "It's great to have a party if you want to dance, but make sure you dance near the door."
The soccer matches are expected to lift spending in Germany by 5 billion euros and attract one million visitors, according to Deutsche Bank.
Britain expecting a lift
The British economy also is expected to get a lift during this time on higher sales of alcohol, food and televisions.
"You see a boom in sales now, but that will be shortlived," said Ralf Walter, a fund manager at Cominvest Asset Mangement in Frankfurt.
Last week, the Stoxx 600 slid 0.7 percent. The Stoxx 50 dropped 0.8 percent in the week and the Euro Stoxx 50, a gauge for the 12 countries using the euro, declined 1.7 percent.
The Stoxx 600 fell 5.2 percent in May as the prospect for higher borrowing costs clouded the outlook for economic growth. The European Central Bank is expected to raise its target rate by a quarter point to 2.75 percent on June 8.
