European Stocks Close Lower Again As Recession Worries Weigh

(RTTNews) - European markets closed lower on Friday, extending recent losses, as fears of a global economic recession amid surging interest rates continued to hurt sentiment, prompting investors to refrain from picking up stocks.

The Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank, all raised their lending rates this week, and also signaled further policy tightening in the coming months to fight inflation.

Markets also digested the latest batch of economic data from Europe. Concerns about a surge in Covid cases in China, and geopolitical tensions weighed as well.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 1.2%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 1.27%, Germany's DAX drifted down 0.67% and France's CAC 40 fell 1.08%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 0.51% down.

The Stoxx 600 shed about 3.3% in the week, while the DAX dropped 3.3%, the CAC 40 slid about 3%, and the FTSE 100 lost 2% in the week.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate losses.

Russia and Turkiye closed higher, while Ireland ended flat.

In the UK market, Unite Group, Ocado Group, 3i Group, ICP, Segro, DCC, Land Securities, Schrodders, Persimmon, Halma and Entain lost 3 to 4.7%.

Standard Chartered climbed more than 2%. Imperial Brands, BAE Systems and British American Tobacco closed modestly higher.

In Paris, Unibail Rodamco, Eurofins Scientific, Capgemini, WorldLine, Michelin and Essilor lost 2 to 5%. Publicis Groupe, Alstom, Vinci, ArecelorMittal, Bouygues and Carrefour also ended sharply lower.

BNP Paribas and Societe Generale gained about 1.7% and 1%, respectively. Credit Agricole ended modestly higher.

In the German market, Vonovia plunged more than 8%. Bayer, Deutsche Wohnen, Sartorius, Fresenius Medical Care, HelloFresh and Infineon Technologies lost 2 to 4%.

Adidas, Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen and MTU Aero Engines gained 1.7 to 2.2%.

In economic news, data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK retail sales declined unexpectedly in November, falling 0.4% from a month earlier, as the rising cost of living and weak consumer sentiment dragged down consumer spending. Sales were expected to rise by 0.3% in November, after increasing by an upwardly revised 0.9% in October.

France's private sector contracted for the second consecutive month, ending the year at the weakest pace in nearly two years, flash survey results from S&P Global showed on Friday.

The composite output index unexpectedly fell to 48.0 in December from 48.7 a month ago. The score was forecast to rise to 48.9.At 48.1, the flash services Purchasing Managers' Index was down from 49.3 in November and also below economists' forecast of 49.1. The manufacturing PMI improved to 48.9 from 48.3. The expected score was 48.2.

Germany's flash composite output index rose to 48.9 in December from 46.3 in November. The index was forecast to rise slightly to 46.5.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to a 5-month high of 49.0 in December from 46.1 in the prior month. The score was forecast to increase to 46.3. The manufacturing PMI rose to a 3 -month high of 47.4 in December from 46.2 in November. The expected score was 46.3.

Final data from Eurostat showed Eurozone inflation slowed for the first time since the middle of 2021, easing to 10.1% in November from 10.6% in October. However, inflation was slightly above the flash estimate of 10%.