European Stocks Close Lower On Growth Worries, Interest Rate Concerns

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed weak after a choppy session on Wednesday, as persisting concerns about high interest rates, inflation, and economic slowdown rendered the mood cautious.

Investors digested a slew of economic data from the region, and looked ahead to U.S. GDP, personal consumption expenditure and jobless claims data, due on Thursday.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.18% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.43%, Germany's DAX lost 0.25% and France's CAC 40 edged down 0.03%, while Switzerland's SMI fell 0.65%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Austria, Iceland, Norway and Russia ended higher, while Netherlands settled flat.

In the UK market, Centrica lost more than 5% and Land Securities dropped about 4.3%. J Sainsbury, British Land Company, Smith & Nephew, Pennon, Just Eat Takeaway.com, CRH, Fresnillo, Croda International, United Utilities, National Grid, Royal Mail and Segro lost 2 to 3.5%.

Ferguson gained about 3%, TUI rallied 2.85% and ICP climbed 2.1%. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Carnival, Johnson Matthey and Hikma Pharmaceuticals also posted notable gains.

In the German market, Fresenius ended down more than 3.5%. Daimler Truck Holding, Vonovia, Sartorius, RWE, Porsche and Beiersdorf lost 2 to 2.5%.

Zalando, Hannover Rueck, Puma, Merck, Allianz, E.ON, Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Munich RE and Volkswagen also ended notably lower.

Siemens surged more than 3%. Deutsche Bank, MTU Aero Engines and Siemens Energy advanced 2.2 to 2.5%, while Continental climbed 1.2%.

In Paris, Teleperformance ended down 3% following a rating downgrade. Veolia ended lower by 2.1%. Danone, Engie, Orange, Unibail Rodamco, AXA and Sanofi lost 1 to 1.6%.

TotalEnergies, Schneider Electric, Safran, WorldLine, Publicis Groupe, ArcelorMittal, Societe Generale, Renault and Alstom gained 1 to 1.7%.

In the Swedish market, H&M Group shares rallied 3.5%. The retailer said it would buy back the company's own B shares for 3 billion kronor starting from September 27.

Netherlands' largest insurer NN Group plunged nearly 19% after the company said that there could be "substantial" financial consequences for the company after an unfavorable court ruling.

In economic news, France's consumer confidence decreased in September after staying stable in the previous two months, survey results from the statistical office INSEE showed.

The consumer sentiment index slid to a 4-month low of 83 in September, down from 85 in August. Economists had expected the index to fall to 84.0.

Germany's consumer confidence is set to erode again in October, as households turned more cautious on spending amid persistently high inflation and little chance of improvement in the economic outlook, resulting in a sharp rise in their saving intentions, results of the monthly survey by the market research group GfK showed.

The forward-looking GfK consumer confidence index for October fell to -26.5 from a revised -25.6 in September. Economists had forecast a score of -26.

Data published by the European Central Bank showed Eurozone money supply registered its biggest fall on record and bank lending grew at a much slower pace in August amid tightening monetary policy and weak economic activity.

The M3 money supply posted an annual decline of 1.3%, following July's 0.4% fall. This was the biggest fall on record.