European Stocks Close Lower On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Thursday on continued uncertainty about the outlook for global economic growth due to the trade war and rising tensions in the Middle East. Investors digested a slew of policy announcements from central banks, including the Bank of England.

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate unchanged on Wednesday and signaled a couple of quarter percentage cuts this year.

Today, the Bank of England held its rates unchanged, and the Swiss National Bank cut interest rate by 25 basis points. Sweden's Riksbank held rates, saying the outlook remains stable despite dramatic global developments.

The BoE paused its monetary easing amid intensifying uncertainty over global trade policy and weak economic growth in the U.K.

The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, headed by BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, decided to maintain the Bank Rate at 4.5, which was the lowest level since June 2023. The U.K. central bank had reduced the rate by 25 basis points in February after two such reductions last year.

Bank staff forecast the economy to grow around 0.25% in the first quarter of 2025. Growth estimates were slightly stronger than expected in February. Inflation is projected to rise further in the near-term to about 3.75% in the third quarter but to fall back thereafter.

The pan European Stoxx 600 closed down 0.43%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.05%, Germany's DAX closed 1.24% down, and France's CAC 40 fell 0.95%. Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.43%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Iceland ended higher, while Greece settled flat.

In the UK market, Pearson closed down 5.7%. M&G, Compass Group, Beazley, 3i Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, IAG, HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered lost 2 to 4%.

Rolls-Royce Holdings, BAE Systems, Anglo American Plc, Glencore, Natwest Group, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto lost 1 to 2%.

SSE, Prudential, Pershing Square Holdings, Experian, Diploma, BT Group, National Grid and Diageo gained 2 to 3.1%.

Entain, Kingfisher, United Utilities, RightMove, Reckitt Benckiser, Severn Trent, Marks & Spencer, WPP and BP closed higher by 1.3 to 2%.

In the German market, RWE ended lower by about 3.5% after reporting adjusted net income of 2.32 billion euros or 3.12 euros per share for fiscal year 2024, compared to 4.10 billion euros or 5.51 per share a year ago.

The company also announced plans to cut investments by over 20% through 2030 due to uncertainty in renewable energy returns.

Volkswagen, Commerzbank, Porsche, Rheinmetall, BMW, Daimler Truck Holding, BASF, Infineon, Mercedes-Benz, Brenntag, Siemens Energy and Deutsche Post closed down 2 to 4%.

Bayer, Siemens Healthineers, Deutsche Bank, Merck, Sartorius and Heidelberg Materials also ended notably lower.

In the French market, STMicroElectronics closed down 3.4%. Stellantis, ArcelorMittal, Airbus, Edenred, BNP Paribas and Safan lost 2 to 3%.

Sanofi, Renault, Teleperformance, Thales, Saint Gobain and Kering also closed notably lower.

Engine gained about 1.2%. Carrefour and Hermes International closed moderately higher.

Eurofins Scientific climbed nearly 7% after announcing that it intends launching a fifth share buyback program for a maximum amount representing up to 4.5% of its share capital, starting on March 20 and lasting until March 19, 2026 at the latest.

The shares to be bought back under this program will be used to cover long-term incentive plans, but may also be cancelled, used to partially finance acquisitions or for other purposes, the company said.

Data from the Office for National Statistics said the UK unemployment rate remained stable and wages continued to log strong growth in the three months to January period, maintaining pressure on the Bank of England to hold interest rates.

The ILO unemployment rate registered 4.4% in November to January, unchanged from the preceding period. The rate matched expectations.

In the three months to January, average earnings including bonus grew 5.8% from the previous year, in line with forecast. Similarly, excluding bonus, average earnings increased 5.9%, as expected.

Data from Destatis showed producer prices in Germany increased by 0.7% year-on-year in February, accelerating from January's 0.5% but falling short of the market consensus of 1%. Still, it marked the fourth consecutive month of producer inflation.

On a monthly basis, the PPI unexpectedly fell by 0.2%, marking the third straight month of decline, following a 0.1% drop in January and missing consensus expectations of a 0.1% rise.