European Shares Mostly Lower Ahead Of FOMC Meeting

(RTTNews) - European stocks were subdued on Tuesday as investors looked forward to the Federal Reserve providing an update on when interest rates might be cut.

The downside remained capped as preliminary flash estimate from Eurostat showed that the euro area economy expanded in the first quarter after two consecutive declines.

Gross domestic product grew by more-than-expected 0.3 percent on quarter following a 0.1 percent fall each in the fourth and third quarters of 2023. Thus, the economy recovered from a recession.

The German economy also avoided recession in the first quarter, with GDP growing more-than-expected 0.2 percent sequentially in the first quarter, in contrast to the revised 0.5 percent decrease in the preceding period.

Meanwhile, headline inflation in the euro area came in at 2.4 percent in April, matching forecasts. On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.6 percent.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 0.3 percent to 506.67 after finishing marginally higher on Monday.

The German DAX slipped 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 eased 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent on the back of impressive earnings updates from the likes of HSBC and Hargreaves and central bank data showing that the number of mortgages approved by British lenders rose to an 18-month high in March.

In corporate news, Stellantis NV fell 2.2 percent after the Franco-Italian carmaker reported a 12 percent decline in revenue in the first quarter.

Computer parts maker Logitech soared 7.8 percent after posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

HSBC Holdings jumped 3.6 percent in London after the bank said it would shortly begin buying back an additional $3 billion of its shares.

Glencore fell about 1 percent after reporting declines in first-quarter copper and coal output.

Prudential slumped 5 percent after the insurer's annual premium equivalent sales for CITIC Prudential Life, its Chinese Mainland JV, fell 17 percent in Q1.

Premier Inn owner Whitbread rallied 2.8 percent after it announced plans to axe around 1,500 U.K. jobs.

Hargreaves Lansdown surged 5.7 percent. The financial services business revealed its AuM levels increased by £7.5billion to a record £149.7billion between January and the end of March.

Airline Air France-KLM tumbled 3.4 percent in Paris after operating loss deepened in the first quarter of 2024.

Electrical supplies distributor Rexel dropped 2.8 percent after Q1 sales came in below expectation.

Vonovia surged 4.6 percent. The German real estate group confirmed its full-year outlook despite a drop in earnings.

Volkswagen dropped 2 percent. The automaker said its operating profit dropped by 20 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the corresponding period last year.

Mercedes-Benz tumbled 3.8 percent as the luxury carmaker reported a 30 percent annual fall in first-quarter earnings before interest and tax.

Sportswear giant Adidas gave up 1.6 percent after backing its recently upgraded FY24 outlook.