European Stocks Close Broadly Higher

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed broadly higher on Wednesday with investors digesting data on manufacturing activity, and looking ahead to U.S. chipmaker Nvidia's results and the upcoming comments from central bankers at the Jackson Hole Symposium later in the week.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.39%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.68%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.15% and France's CAC 40 edged up 0.08%, while Switzerland's SMI jumped 0.9%.

Among other markets in Europe, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland and Portugal ended higher.

Austria, Belgium, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Turkiye closed weak. Spain and Sweden ended flat.

In the UK market, Endeavour Mining surged 4.2%. Unite Group, Segro, Fresnillo, Flutter Entertainment, Land Securities, Anglo American Plc, Ocado Group and Prudential gained 2.3 to 3.2%.

National Grid, Severn Trent, Croda International, Melrose Industries, Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, Rio Tinto, Persimmon and Halma also moved up sharply.

JD Sports Fashion dropped 5.4%. BP, Centrica, Frasers Group, B&M European Value Retail, Johnson Matthey, Shell and Standard Chartered lost 0.5 to 1.4%.

In the German market, Vonovia climbed 2.3%. Symrise, Merck, Fresenius Medical Care, E.ON, Deutsche Telekom, Qiagen and SAP gained 1 to 1.8%.

Puma, Adidas and HeidelbergCement lost 3.7%, 3.3% and 2.7%, respectively. Commerzbank, Siemens Energy, BMW and Continental declined 1.2 to 2%.

In Paris, Teleperformance surged 2.7%. Eurofins Scientific, Alstom, WorldLine, L'Oreal, Unibail Rodamco and Thales gained 1 to 1.7%. Societe Generale, Hermes International, Edenred, Airbus Group, Safran and Capgemini also closed higher.

TotalEnergies, Renault, Essilor, Saint-Gobain, Carrefour and Sanofi lost 0.6 to 1.7%.

In economic news, flash survey results from S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank revealed that euro area private sector activity registered its biggest fall since November 2020 as the downturn spread from manufacturing to services.

The flash composite output index declined to a 33-month low of 47.0 in August from 48.6 in July, the purchasing managers' survey showed. If pandemic months are excluded, the latest score was the lowest since April 2013.

At 44.7, the flash composite output index hit a 39-month low in August, down from 48.5 in July. The score was forecast to fall to 48.3.

The services PMI dropped to a nine-month low of 47.3 from 52.3 in the previous month. The score was also below economists' forecast of 51.5.

At the same time, the manufacturing PMI rose to 39.1 from 38.8 a month ago. The expected reading was 38.7.

France's private sector continued to contract in August, flash survey data from S&P Global showed.

The HCOB composite output index posted 46.6 in August, unchanged from July's 32-month low. The score signaled a solid decline in the private sector activity. The expected score was 47.5.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index slid to a 30-month low of 46.7 in August from 47.1 in the previous month, while the reading was forecast to improve to 47.5.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing PMI unexpectedly rose to a five-month high of 46.4 in August from 45.1 in July. The score was seen falling to 45.0.

Germany's private sector suffered the steepest contraction in more than three years in August, flash data released by S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank showed Wednesday.

At 44.7, the flash composite output index hit a 39-month low in August, down from 48.5 in July. The score was forecast to fall to 48.3.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to a nine-month low of 47.3 from 52.3 in the previous month. The score was also below economists' forecast of 51.5.

At the same time, the manufacturing PMI rose to 39.1 from 38.8 a month ago. The expected reading was 38.7.

The UK private sector entered the contraction territory in August ending a six-month period of expansion as sluggish domestic economic conditions as well as higher interest rates damped demand, a closely watched survey showed Wednesday.

The flash S&P Global/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply composite output index slipped to a 31-month low of 47.9 in August from 50.8 in the previous month, the purchasing managers' survey showed. The reading was seen at 50.3.

A PMI score below 50.0 indicates contraction. The latest reading suggested that the private sector activity was the weakest since January 2021.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index posted 48.7 in August compared to 51.5 a month ago. The reading was forecast to fall moderately to 50.8.

The manufacturing PMI came in at a 39-month low of 42.5, down from 45.3 in July and economists' forecast of 45.0.