European Stocks Close Lower After Cautious Session

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors largely refrained from making significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

Markets also digested a slew of economic data from the European region, in addition to tracking news about Covid-related developments in China.

Markets had closed higher on Tuesday, after data showing a smaller-than-expected increase in U.S. consumer price inflation in the month of November helped ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rate by another 50 basis points today, although the tamer than expected inflation data is likely to prompt the policymakers to slow down the pace of tightening from early next year.

The focus will also be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference and the Summary of Economic Projections.

The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank are scheduled to announce their policy moves on Thursday.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.02%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.09% down, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.26% and 0.21%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.22%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia and Turkiye ended weak.

Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Poland closed higher, while Finland, Ireland, Spain and Sweden ended flat.

In the UK market, TUI plunged more than 8%. IAG, Anglo American Plc, Just Eat Takeaway.com, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Pennon Group lost 2 to 3%.

BT Group shares climbed nearly 3%. Land Securities, Admiral Group, BAE Systems, Compass Group, British Land Company, National Grid, Segro and Unilever gained 1 to 2%.

In Paris, ArcelorMittal and Carrefour both ended more than 4% down. Vinci, WorldLine, Societe Generale, Capgemini, STMicroElectronics, AXA, Alstom and Bouygues lost 1 to 2.2%.

Hermes International, Thales, Sanofi, Veolia and Unibail Rodamco ended with notable gains.

In the German market, HelloFresh drifted down 4.8%. Infineon Technologies, Zalando, Covestro, Deutsche Bank, Siemens and Symrise ended lower by 1 to 2.2%.

Merck, Vonovia, RWE, E.ON, HeidelbergCement, Puma and Continental gained 1 to 2%.

In economic news, official figures from the Office for National Statistics said UK consumer price inflation moderated in November from a 41-year high in October largely on easing transport cost.

The data said consumer prices posted an annual increase of 10.7% in November, down from 11.1% in October, which was the highest since 1981, and also weaker than economists' forecast of 10.9%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices gained only 0.4%. Monthly inflation was expected to ease to 0.6% from 2% in October.

UK house price inflation accelerated in October due to the low base of comparison, another report from the Office for National Statistics said. House prices advanced 12.6% on a yearly basis in October, up from 9.9% in September.

Meanwhile, Eurozone industrial production declined for the first time in three months in October with almost all sectors contracting as economic uncertainty and higher producer prices took a toll on demand.

After rising for two straight months, industrial output dropped 2% from September, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union reported on Wednesday.

The pace of decline exceeded the expected 1.5% drop and also reversed the revised 0.8% rise in September.