European Markets Close On Weak Note Ahead Of Fed, BoE Policy Decisions

(RTTNews) - European markets closed notably lower on Tuesday as investors, digesting a slew of economic data from the region, remained reluctant to pick up stocks ahead of Federal Reserve's interest rate decision due on Wednesday.

The Bank of England's policy announcement is due on Thursday. The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rate by 25 basis points, while the BoE is likely to leave its interest rate unchanged.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 1.09%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 0.8%, Germany's DAX closed down by 1.78% and France's CAC 40 lost 1.02%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 1.03% down.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate losses.

Denmark and Turkiye closed weak, while Iceland ended flat.

In the UK market, Haleon closed 4.8% down. WPP, Easyjet, Prudential, Barclays, Coca-Cola HBC, Natwest Group, Aviva, Phoenix Group Holdings, ICG, Standard Chartered, St. James's Place, Legal & General and Centrica lost 2 to 3.5%.

Fresnillo climbed more than 2%. Sainsbury (J), Croda International, Glencore, Mondi, Kingfisher, Informa and Associated British Foods also closed with notable gains.

Anglo American Plc moved modestly higher. The mining giant has signed a definitive agreement with Codelco to coordinate operations at Los Bronces and Andina in Chile.

Online review platform Trustpilot moved up sharply after delivering both top-line growth and improved profitability in the first half of 2025 and launching a new share buyback program.

In the German market, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Hannover Rueck, Munich RE, Beiersdorf, Allianz, Heidelberg Materials, Bayer and Symrise lost 2 to 4.1%.

Puma rallied nearly 3%. Fresenius Medical Care gained about 1.5%, while Fresenius posted a modest gain.

In the French market, Societe Generale ended lower by about 3.6%. L'Oreal closed nearly 3% down, while Bouygues, Schneider Electric, Engie, AXA, Credit Agricole, Thales, Airbus, Safran, Veolia Environment, Legrand and Saint Gobain ended lower by 1.5 to 2.3%.

Kering climbed more than 3%. Capgemini, EssilorLuxottica and Dassault Systemes gained 1 to 1.7%.

On the economic front, the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany increased to 37.3 in September 2025 from 34.7 in August, beating forecasts of 26.3. Meanwhile, the current conditions gauge declined for a second consecutive month to -76.4 from -68.6, worse than market expectations of -75.

Industrial production in the Euro Area inched higher by 0.3% from the previous month in July, after a revised 0.6% drop in the earlier period. Compared to a year ago, industrial output grew by 1.8% in July, picking up from the 0.7% increase in June.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for the Euro Area rose by 1 point from the prior month to 26.1 in September, above market estimates of 20.3. In September. The Indicator of the current economic situation increased by 2.4 points to -28.8 and inflation expectations went up by 3.3 points to -3.4.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK jobless rate remained unchanged and average earnings growth slowed in the three months to July.

The unemployment rate was at 4.7% in the three months to July, unchanged from the previous period.

Average earnings excluding bonuses increased 4.8% in May to July, which was down from 5% in the previous three-month period and matched expectations.

In August, payroll employment decreased 127,000 from the previous year and by 8,000 from the previous month to 30.3 million. The number of vacancies fell 10,000 sequentially to 728,000, in June to August, data showed.