European stock markets fell Thursday as a hawkish Federal Reserve raised concerns about the additional easing of monetary policy going forward.At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.3% lower, the CAC 40 in France fell 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. dropped 0.2%.Hawkish Fed weighs The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as widely expected, but in a hawkish surprise the central bank officials now believe that fewer rate cuts are needed this year, as inflation is expected to trend higher than previously expected.Fed members now see the benchmark rate falling to 5.1% this year, from the current range of 5.25% to 5.5%, suggesting just one rate cut in 2024, compared with a prior estimate in March for three cuts.Additionally, four FOMC committee members called for no cuts this year, a much more hawkish stance than had been expected.The European Central Bank cut interest rates last Thursday for the first time since 2019, but held back from any promise to follow up its move, creating a degree of uncertainty over what follows.More inflation data in focusThis means investors will be paying close attention to upcoming economic data for clues over future interest rate moves.Wednesday’s benign U.S. inflation is likely to help limit equity losses in Europe Thursday, but data released earlier Thursday showed Spanish consumer prices grew 3.6% on an annual basis in May, a jump from 3.3% the prior month.