European Shares Little Changed In Lackluster Trade; Tech Stocks Underperform

(RTTNews) - European stocks were little changed on Tuesday as investors fretted about U.S. investment curbs on China and waited for Germany to sort out the formation of its new government.

On a light day on the economic front, official data showed the German economy contracted in the fourth quarter, in line with estimates.

GDP declined 0.2 percent from a quarter ago, reversing a 0.1 percent sequential growth in the third quarter, according to Destatis. The figures matched the estimate published on January 30.

On a yearly basis, GDP dropped by calendar-adjusted 0.2 percent, as estimated, after falling 0.3 percent a quarter ago.

The pan European STOXX 600 was little changed with a positive bias at 553.80 after finishing marginally lower on Monday.

The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both eased around 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was struggling for direction.

Technology stocks were coming under selling pressure, with STMicroelectronics and ASML both falling over 2 percent.

German arms makers Rheinmetall gained 2 percent and Hensoldt advanced 1.4 percent.

According to a Bloomberg report, Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has opened talks with the Social Democrats to quickly approve as much as €200 billion ($210 billion) in special defense spending.

Thyssenkrupp AG surged 8 percent after reports that it will hold an extraordinary general meeting to conclude a spin-off of a minority stake in its warship division this calendar year.

Consumer goods major Unilever fell 2.5 percent after an announcement that chief executive Hein Schumacher will step down after less than two years in the role and be replaced by finance chief Fernando Fernandez.

John Wood Group shares jumped 6.3 percent. The struggling oilfield services and engineering firm said it has received a fresh approach from Dubai-based Sidara that approached it with a £1.6bn buyout proposal last year.

Automakers Renault, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen all were moving lower after industry data showed passenger car registrations in the European Union dropped by 2.6 percent year-on-year to a four-month low in January 2025.

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson gained 1 percent after winning a 5G Core deal from India's Bharti Airtel.