European Stocks Close Broadly Lower As Investors React To Earnings, Economic Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks settled lower on Thursday as investors reacted to a slew of earnings announcements and economic data, in addition to digesting the Bank of England's interest rate decision.

Weak cues from Wall Street where stocks tumbled amid concerns about stretched valuations in the tech sector weighed as well on investor sentiment.

The BoE decided to hold the interest rate in a tight vote and signaled that the rate will follow a gradual downward path if disinflation process continues.

BoE's Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Andrew Bailey, voted 5-4 to retain the bank rate at 4%. The central bank had reduced the rate five times since August 2024, which is now at its lowest since early 2023.

In a finely balanced decision, Bailey said the overall risks to medium-term inflation had moved down to become more balanced recently and there was value in waiting for further evidence.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.7%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 0.42%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed down by 1.31% and 1.36%, respectively, while Switzerland's SMI lost 0.52%.

Among other markets in Europe, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia and Sweden ended weak.

Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Spain and Turkiye closed higher.

In the UK market, Hikma Pharmaceuticals tanked more than 14% after lowering it medium term guidance.

Smith & Nephew plunged nearly 11% after the company's revenue fell short of expectations.

Diageo, Howden Joinery Group, Metlen Energy & Metals, Pearson, Halma and The Sage Group lost 4 to 6.5%.

Games Workshop, Convatec Group, Diploma, Scottish Mortgage, Ashtead Group, Relx, Burberry Group, LSE, IAG, 3i Group and Bunzl closed down by 2.5 to 4%.

Sainsbury (J) climbed more than 5.5%. AstraZeneca gained more than 3%. IMI, Antofagasta, Fresnillo, Auto Trader Group, Natwest Group, Endeavour Mining, Lloyds Banking Group, Tesco, Standard Chartered, Associated British Foods and Segro also ended notably higher.

In the German market, Heidelberg Materials, SAP and Deutsche Boerse lost 4.1 to 4.6%.

Brenntag closed lower by 3%. Siemens Energy, Qiagen, Gea Group, BMW, Daimler Truck Holding, Siemens Healthineers, Siemens, Infineon, Deutsche Bank and Porsche Automobil lost 1 to 2.3%.

Commerzbank drifted lower after third-quarter results fell short of analysts' estimates.

Deutsche Post surged more than 8% on higher earnings in the third quarter. Profit before income taxes rose to €1.269 billion from €1.158 billion in the same quarter of 2024.

Zalando climbed more than 7% on strong results, thanks to the acquisition of rival About You in July 2025.

Henkel gained nearly 1% higher organic sales in Q3. Rheinmetall moved up sharply after the company said its earning per share from continuing operations improved to 8.34 euros in the nine-month period ended September, from 7.32 euros per share in the previous year.

In the French market, Legrand tumbled 12% after the company's results for the first nine months of the year fell short of expectations. The company reported sales of 6.97 billion euros in the nine-month period ended September, less than an expected 7.03 billion euros.

Teleperformance declined sharply after reporting a drop in third quarter revenue and lowering its annual targets.

Kering, Schneider Electric, Pernod Ricard, Dassault Systemes, Edenred, Capgemini, Hermes International, L'Oreal, Airbus, LVMH, Saint Gobain and Bureau Veritas also ended with sharp losses.

In economic news, Germany's industrial output expanded 1.3% in September after dropping by 3.7% in August, Destatis reported. Economists had forecast a monthly growth of 3%. Year-on-year, industrial production logged a slower decline of 1%, following a 3.6% decrease in August.

Germany's construction sector registered its steepest decline in seven months in October, survey data from S&P Global showed.

The construction Purchasing Managers' Index slid unexpectedly to 42.8 in October from 46.2 in the previous month. The index was forecast to rise to 46.9.

Data from S&P Global showed that the HCOB Construction PMI in France fell to 39.8 in October from 42.9 in September, signaling a faster pace of decline in activity and extending the sector's downturn to 41 months.

Data published by Eurostat showed Eurozone retail sales declined for the second straight month in September, dropping by 0.1% on a monthly basis, the same in August. Meanwhile, economists had expected a rebound of 0.2%.

Year-on-year, retail sales growth moderated to 1% from 1.6% in August, in line with expectations.