European Stocks Close Lower On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed notably lower on Tuesday, weighed down by growth worries after data showed China's exports and imports both sank at their fastest pace sine the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic in July.

Investors stayed largely cautious as they awaited key inflation reading from the U.S. and China this week for more clues on the growth and rate outlook.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.23% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.36%, Germany's DAX lost 1.1% and France's CAC 40 closed 0.69% down, while Switzerland's SMI ended lower by 0.45%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Denmark rose sharply. Iceland and Ireland posted modest gains, while Czech Republic, Portugal and Russia ended flat.

In the UK market, ABRDN plunged 11.7% after reporting a drop in its assets under management. Glencore shed about 3% after half-year profit dropped 50%.

Fresnillo, Melrose Industries, Barclays, IMI, Entain, Johnson Matthey and Anglo American Plc lost 2 to 3.4%.

Beazley rallied 5.2%. IHG gained 2.35%. Hiscox, Admiral Group, AstraZeneca, National Grid, Pearson and RightMove gained 1 to 1.7%.

In the German market, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Infineon, Zalando, Continental and Adidas declined 2 to 4%.

Sartorius, Porsche, Siemens, BMW, Qiagen, Vonovia, Volkswagen, BASF, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens Energy, Deutsche Post and Siemens Healthineers lost 2 to 4%.

Merck, E.ON, Beiersdorf gained 1 to 1.2%. RWE ended modestly higher.

In Paris, BNP Paribas lost about 3%. WorldLine and Credit Agricole both shed about 2.5%. ArcelorMittal, Societe Generale, Alstom, Renault, Stellantis and Publicis Groupe ended lower by 1.3 to 2%.

Sanofi climbed 1.3%. Thales gained nearly 1%, while Veolia and Carrefour posted modest gains.

In Italy, banks were under pressure after the country approved a 40% windfall tax on banks' extra profits to feed items such as a reduction of the tax wedge, tax cuts and financial support to holders of mortgages on first homes.

In European economic news, Germany's inflation eased as estimated in July but remained elevated on higher food and energy prices, final data from Destatis revealed.

The consumer price index rose 6.2% year-on-year, following a 6.4% increase in June. The statistical office confirmed the initial estimate published on July 28.

Elsewhere, France's current account deficit narrowed in the second quarter driven by the improvement in foreign trade, the Bank of France reported.

The current account deficit fell sharply to EUR 0.5 billion from EUR 9.1 billion in the first quarter.

France's trade deficit narrowed to the lowest in nearly two years in June, the customs office reported Tuesday. The trade deficit totaled EUR 6.7 billion in June, which was the lowest since August 2021. The shortfall dropped from EUR 7.94 billion in May.

UK retail sales posted a slower growth in July due to bad weather, monthly data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed on Tuesday. Total retail sales grew 1.5% on a yearly basis in July, slower than the 2.3% expansion in the same period last year.