European Stocks Close Broadly Lower Ahead Of Key U.S. Economic Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed broadly lower on Thursday amid concerns about inflation and lingering uncertainty about the outlook for Fed interest rates. Investors awaited the data on U.S. personal consumption expenditure for clues about Fed policy moves.

Investors also braced for the first round of French parliamentary elections due over the weekend. Higher bond yields weighed as well on markets.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.43%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.55%, and France's CAC 40 drifted down 1.03%, while Germany's DAX gained 0.3%. Switzerland's SMI edged down 0.09%.

Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended weak.

Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Turkiye closed higher. Austria and Belgium edged up

In the UK market, Burberry Group dropped about 6.5%. GSK ended down 4.6% after a U.S. public health agency narrowed its usage recommendation for all respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines.

Prudential, British American Tobacco and 3i Group lost 2.9 to 3.3%.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Associated British Foods, Diageo, AstraZeneca, Rio Tinto, B&M European Value Retail, Severn Trent, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Anglo American Plc ended down by 1.5 to 2.3%.

Smith (DS) Plc shares soared 15.7%. Mondi rallied 3.6%. Barclays Group, Admiral Group, Airtel Africa, Halma, Smiths Group, Relx, Diploma, Rentokil Initial, Intertek Group, Pearson, Auto Trader Group, Bunzl and Howden Joinery gained 1 to 2%.

In the German market, Rheinmetall, Sartorius, Beiersdorf and Zalando lost 2 to 3%. RWE, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Infineon and E.ON also ended notably lower.

MTU Aero Engines gained more than 5.5%. Siemens gained about 2.5%. HeidelbergCement and Vonovia also ended sharply higher.

In the French market, Stellantis, Edenred, L'Oreal, Vinci, Pernod Ricard and Bouygues ended lower by 2 to 4.3%. Veolia, Dassault Systemes, Engie, Essilor, LVMH, Publicis Groupe, STMicroElectronics, Danone and Carrefour also closed notably lower.

Kering gained 4.7%, and Unibail Rodamco climbed about 1.6%. Teleperformance and Safran posted modest gains.

Watches of Switzerland Group, a British retailer of Swiss watches and other luxury goods, soared 8.5%. The company said it is seeing signs of stability in the U.K. premium and luxury watch market following a post-COVID slump in sales.

Swedish clothing major Hennes & Mauritz AB tanked 13% after posting a smaller-than-expected increase in second quarter profits.

Eurozone economic confidence weakened unexpectedly in June, suggesting that the economy remains weak, survey data published by the European Commission showed.

The economic confidence index posted 95.9 in June, down from 96.1 in May. The reading was forecast to rise slightly to 96.2.

The score largely reflected broadly stable sentiment in industry, and among consumers and service providers, while confidence in construction and retail deteriorated from May.

UK car production declined for the third straight month in May, as factories continued to retool for an electric mobility future, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, said Thursday.

Car production declined 11.9 percent yearly to 69,652 units in May, data showed