European Stocks Close Broadly Lower

(RTTNews) - European stocks ended broadly lower on Wednesday as investors largely stayed cautious, digesting the latest batch of economic data and focusing on U.S. debt ceiling negotiations.

Hawkish comments from some Federal Reserve officials and rising concerns over China's recovery weighed on sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.15% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.36% and France's CAC 40 edged down 0.09%, and Germany's DAX gained 0.34%. Switzerland's SMI declined 0.71%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway, Poland and Portugal ended weak.

Austria, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher, while Russia ended flat.

In the UK market, British Land Company ended 5.6% down, after it swung to a pre-tax loss for fiscal 2023.

Croda International shed about 5%. Royal Mail drifted down 4%. Mondi ended lower by 2.6%. National Grid, Pennon, Severn Trent, British American Tobacco, Persimmon, GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo, BT, Fresnillo and Next lost 1 to 2%.

Melrose Industries, Carnival, Polymetal International, Rolls-Royce Holdings, EasyJet, The Sage Group, IAG and TUI gained 2 to 4.5%.

In Paris, Michelin ended nearly 4% down. Sanofi, Pernod Ricard, Eurofins Scientific and Capgemini ended lower by 1 to 1.5%.

Societe Generale, Alstom, WorldLine, ArcelorMittal, Publicis Groupe, Airbus Group, Stellantis and Safran gained 1 to 2%.

In the German market, Commerzbank and Deutsche Boerse both ended lower by about 3.75%. Symrise dropped nearly 3% up, Fresenius Medical Care declined 2.5%, and Sartorius drifted down 2.2%.

Siemens Healthineers, Merck, Puma and RWE also ended notably lower.

Siemens and Covestro gained 2.5% and 2%, respectively. Munich RE, Mercedes Benz, Siemens Energy, MTU Aero Engines and Continental gained 1 to 1.6%.

On the economic front, Eurozone inflation rose as estimated in April on higher food and energy prices, while core inflation slowed slightly, final data from Eurostat showed.

The harmonized index of consumer prices posted an annual growth of 7% in April, following a 6.9% rise in March. The rate was in line with the preliminary estimate released on May 2.

By contrast, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices, core inflation slowed slightly to 5.6% from 5.7% a month ago. The core rate was also confirmed.

On a monthly basis, the HICP rose 0.6%, slightly weaker than the flash estimate of 0.7%.

France's unemployment rate remained unchanged in the first quarter at a historically low level, official data revealed. The ILO unemployment rate came in at 7.1% in the first quarter, the statistical office INSEE reported. The jobless rate in the fourth quarter was slightly revised downward from 7.2% to 7.1%.

Europe's new car registrations registered a double-digit growth in April but the pace of growth slowed from March, data published by the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, showed Wednesday. New car sales advanced 17.2% from the last year, following March's 28.8% expansion.