European Stocks Close Broadly Higher

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed broadly lower on Wednesday despite political uncertainty in France, and lingering concerns about geopolitical tensions. Investors also awaited some crucial economic data from the U.S.

A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) saying that the global economy will likely remain resilient helped underpin sentiment.

The OECD said in its latest economic outlook report that global GDP growth will likey grow 3.3% in 2025, up from 3.2% in 2024, and expand 3.3% in 2026.

In France, Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who is facing a non-confidence vote by French lawmakers in parliament over a budget dispute, kept his hopes alive by expressing willingness to negotiate the budget with Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and other parties.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.37%. Germany's DAX climbed 1.08% and France's CAC 40 closed higher by 0.66%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 0.28%. Switzerland's SMI closed down 0.43%.

Among other markets in Europe, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Portugal and Russia ended weak.

In the UK market, Legal & General climbed nearly 6%. The stock surged higher as the company maintained profit guidance for the full year and hinted at more returns for shareholders.

IAG and Vistry Group both advanced nearly 4%. IAG gained thanks to a rating upgrade by JP Morgan.

Persimmon, Beazley, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Whitbread, Intermediate Capital, Land Securities, Barrat Redrow, Associated British Foods, Scottish Mortgage, British Land Company, Compass, Next, Taylor Wimpey and J Sainsbury gained 1 to 2.3%.

AstraZeneca, Anglo American Plc, Smiths Group, National Grid, DS Smith, SSE, GSK and Glencore closed down 1 to 3%.

In the German market, Zalando climbed more than 8%. SAP, Daimler Truck Holding, Rheinmetall, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Puma, Volkswagen, Fresenius Medical Care, Symrise and MTU Aero Engines gained 1 to 4%.

HeidelbergCement and RWE closed down by about 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively. Merck, E.ON, BASF, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom, Brenntag and Covestro lost 0.6 to 1.1%.

In the French market, Renault rallied 5.2%. Dassault Systemes climbed nearly 4%. Schneider Electric, Legrand, Kering, AXA, Unibail Rodamco, Vinci, Carrefour, STMicroElectronics, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Eurofins Scientific, Capgemini and Airbus Group gained 1 to 2.3%.

Stellantis gained more than 1% after denying reports it planned to pick Apple's Maestri as its new CEO.

Orange closed down nearly 3%. Publicis Groupe, Edenred and ArcelorMittal lost 1.4 to 2%.

On the economic front, the euro area private sector fell back into the contraction territory in the penultimate month of the year as business activity dropped the most since January amid a renewed fall in services output, final data from S&P Global showed. The HCOB final composite output index fell to 48.3 in November from 50.0 in October. The flash reading was 48.1.

Eurozone producer prices registered an annual fall of 3.2% in October, after a 3.4% decrease in September. Among major components of producer prices, energy posted the biggest annual fall of 11.2%. Excluding energy, producer price inflation rose to 0.8% from 0.6%.

The UK service sector grew at the slowest pace in a year as business activity and new orders rose at weaker rates, the S&P Global purchasing managers' survey showed.

The final services Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 50.8 in November from 52.0 in October. The reading was above the initial estimate of 50.0. A score above 50 indicates expansion, while any reading below suggests contraction in the sector.