European Stocks Close Lower As Growth Concerns, Inflation Worries Weigh

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Wednesday, snapping a five-day winning streak, as worries about slowing growth and rising inflation rendered the mood bearish.

Investors also looked ahead to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting, due later in the day.

Deepening the cost of living crisis, UK consumer price inflation accelerated further in July to the highest since 1982 on surging food and fuel prices, adding pressure on the Bank of England to tighten the policy again despite the looming recession.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed Consumer price inflation rose to 10.1% in July from 9.4% in June. Inflation was forecast to climb moderately to 9.8%.

UK house price inflation eased notably in June, with average house prices growing 7.8% in the month on a yearly basis, following May's 12.8% increase.

According to the flash estimate from Eurostat, the euro area economy expanded slightly less than estimated in the second quarter. Gross domestic product grew 0.6% in the second quarter instead of 0.7% estimated on July 29. Nonetheless, this was faster than the 0.5% expansion seen in the first quarter.

At the same time, the annual GDP growth eased to 3.9% from 5.4% a quarter ago. The annual rate was revised down from 4%.

The pan European Stoxx 600 drifted down 0.91%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.27% down, Germany's DAX tumbled 2.04% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.97%, while Switzerland's SMI edged down marginally.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended weak.

Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Portugal and Turkiye closed higher.

In the UK market, Persimmon plunged nearly 8%. Aveva Group, IAG, Prudential, Haleon, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Barratt Developments, ABRDN, Schrodders, Melrose Industries and Mondi shed 3 to 5.4%.

Cineworld tanked 60% to a record low after the movie theatre operator warned of low audiences due to 'limited' film releases.

Diageo, BP, British American Tobacco, Flutter Entertainment, Reckitt Benckiser, Glencore and Admiral Group closed higher.

In Paris, Faurecia plummeted more than 8%. Atos ended lower by 6% and Sanofi drifted down 5.6%. Unibail Rodamco, STMicroElectronics, Valeo, Michelin, Saint Gobain, Air France-KLM, Renault, Airbus Group and Arcelor Mittal lost 2 to 5%.

In the German market, Zalando and HelloFresh both shed more than 7%. Infineon Technologies, Covestro, Vonovia, Continental, BASF, HeidelbergCement, Deutsche Wohnen and Siemens lost 3 to 5.3%.

Uniper SE, the energy company which secured a 15-billion-euro bailout last month, plunged more than 12% after saying it had suffered a net loss of more than 12 billion euros ($12.2 billion) in the first half of the year. The company was hit hard by reduced Russian gas deliveries.

Fresenius, Fresenius Medical Care, Porsche Automobil, BMW, Adidas and Volkswagen also declined sharply, while Sartorius and Henkel posted strong gains.