European Stocks Close Lower On Tariff Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed weak on Monday after a cautious session amid uncertainty about U.S. government's tariffs as the July 9 deadline nears.

The mood remained cautious following U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks that he is not looking to extend the pause on tariffs on most countries beyond the previously announced July 9 deadline.

Trump expressed confidence that agreements would be reached in time to avoid higher tariffs.

While discussions with Japan continue, Canada moved to calm tensions after reversing its decision to impose a Digital Service Tax (DST) on American technology companies. Trump characterized trade in cars between the U.S. and Japan as unfair and floated the idea of keeping 25% tariffs on autos in place.

There is still some uncertainty over key details with regard to U.S.-China trade deal.

Meanwhile, a new trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom that reduces U.S. tariffs on British cars and aircraft parts officially came into effect today.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.42%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed 0.43% down, Germany's DAX lost 0.51% and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.33%. Switzerland's SMI lost 0.49%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Iceland, Portugal and Sweden ended weak.

Czech Republic, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed higher. Austria ended flat.

In the UK market, Intermediate Capital Group, Barratt Redrow, Persimmon, Croda International, Taylor Wimpey, Experian, Spirax Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Rentokil Initial, Mondi and Hiscox lost 1.6 to 4.2%.

Endeavour Mining climbed nearly 2.5%. Imperial Brands, Airtel Africa, Rolls-Royce Holdings, BAE Systems, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and JD Sports Fashion gained 1 to 2%.

In the German market, Symrise closed nearly 7% down, and Bayer ended lower by about 5.3%. Deutsche Bank, Brenntag, Sartorius, BASF, Merck and Siemens lost 2.3 to 3.2%.

Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche, Commerzbank, Mercedes-Benz and Deutsche Post closed down 1.4 to 2%.

Zalando climbed more than 3% and Siemens Energy surged 2.7%. Puma, Rheinmetall and Infineon gained 1.3 to 2%.

In the French market, Stellantis lost about 3% and Renault closed nearly 2.5% down. Schneider Electric, Pernod Ricard, Saint Gobain, Veolia, LVMH and Dassault Systemes lost 1 to 2%.

L'Oreal climbed about 2.3%. Thales, Safran, Carrefour, Hermes International and Unibail Rodamco gained 1 to 1.6%.

Data from Destatis showed retail sales in Germany dropped by 1.6% month-over-month in May 2025, after declining by a downwardly revised 0.6% in April. Retail sales increased 1.6% in May over the sme month in the previous year.

Germany's import prices fell by 0.7% month-on-month in May 2025, easing from a 1.7% decline in April. Import prices decreased by 1.1% year-on-year in May 2025, after April's drop of 0.4%.

Germany's consumer price inflation moderated unexpectedly in June to the lowest level in eight months, flash estimates from Destatis revealed.

Consumer price inflation slowed to 2% in June from May's stable rate of 2.1%. Meanwhile, economists had expected inflation to rise to 2.2%. A similar increase was last seen in October 2024.

Core inflation, which excludes prices of food and energy, softened marginally to 2.7% in June from 2.8% a month ago.

Data showed that services costs registered a slower growth of 3.3% after a 3.4% rise. Similarly, the increase in goods costs eased to 0.8% from 0.9%.

Month-on-month, the consumer price index remained flat in June, following a 0.1% rise in May. Prices were expected to rise by 0.2%.

UK mortgage approvals increased for the first time so far this year in May, suggesting an improvement in housing market activity, figures from the Bank of England showed.

The net mortgage approvals for house purchases that indicate future borrowing rose by more-than-expected 2,400 to 63,000 in May. This was the first increase since December 2024 and also exceeded economists' forecast of 61,000.

Approvals for remortgaging also increased in May, by 6,200 to 41,500. This was the largest increase since February 2024, data showed.

Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals rose by GBP 2.8 billion to GBP 2.1 billion, following a large decrease of GBP 13.8 billion to -GBP 0.8 billion in April.