European Stocks Close Mixed As PMI Data, Political Concerns Shape Trading

(RTTNews) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday with investors digesting regional PMI data and reacting to corporate news. Among the major markets, Germany and the U.K. closed higher, while France slipped to 7-month low amid rising concerns about the nation's fiscal outlook and political uncertainty ahead of the April 2027 elections.

French President Emmanuel Macro is facing stiff resistance from opposition parties as they remain reluctant to compromise with him ahead of the election. According to research reports, France could be nearing a full-blown debt crisis.

Elevated bond yields amid growing political instability in Europe weighed on sentiment, prompting investors to tread cautiously.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.36%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.34% and Germany's DAX edged up 0.09%, while France's CAC 40 dropped 0.8%. Switzerland's SMI settled with a gain of 0.31%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Türkiye closed higher.

Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Portugal ended weak, while Russia and Sweden closed flat.

In the UK market, Ithaca Energy gained 2.2% after the company announced that it has agreed to acquire offshore oil assets located in shallow waters off the East Coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada from Suncor Energy Inc. The transaction is targeted to be completed in the first half of 2027.

The deal has an upfront cash consideration of $860 million. The company could pay up to an additional $250 million in contingent consideration linked to Brent crude oil prices.

Standard Chartered moved up more than 2.5%. Metlen Energy & Metals, Anglo American Plc, Scottish Mortgage, The Sage Group, LSEG, Rio Tinto, Fresnillo, Glencore, BT Group, Diploma, HSBC Holdings, Shell, Melrose Industries, BP, Antofagasta and Airtel Africa gained 0.9%-2.1%.

3i Group dropped 5.6%. Barratt Redrow and Balfour Beatty Plc closed lower by about 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively. Halma, IAG, Diageo, Next, Games Workshop, Coca-Cola HBC and GSK also ended notably lower.

In the German market, Rheinmetall gained 2.3%. Fresenius Medical Care, Gea Group, Volkswagen, Continental, Brenntag, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Boerse and Daimler Truck Holding also ended notably higher.

Bayer, Heidelberg Materials and Infineon shed 1.8%-2.1%. Hochtief, Deutsche Post, Adidas, Scout24 and Siemens Healthineers also ended weak.

In the French market, Dassault Systemes moved up 3.7%. Stellantis gained 2.6% and Renault climbed 2.3%. Thales, TotalEnergies, STMicroelectronics, Unibail Rodamco, EssilorLuxottica, Carrefour and Eurofins Scientific also ended with strong gains.

Schneider Electric tanked nearly 10% as investors weighed the scale of the debt load and potential equity dilution after the company's $22.6 billion all-cash offer for PTC at a 42.3% premium to the U.S. industrial software firm's last closing price.

Danone drifted lower by 2.3%, while Saint-Gobain closed nearly 1.5% down. Sanofi, Accor, Hermes International and Legrand shed 1%-1.2%.

In economic news, Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global Germany Composite PMI rose to 53.8 in September from 51.8 in August, matching preliminary estimates and signaling the strongest expansion in almost a year. Growth was broad-based and led by manufacturing, which also drove increases in new business and export sales. Meanwhile, the services sector returned to expansion, with the Business Activity Index rising to 52.9 from 49.7 in August, marking its highest reading since just before the Middle East conflict began in February.

Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global France Composite PMI rose to 51.1 in September from 48.5 in August but was revised slightly down from a preliminary estimate of 51.2. The private sector PMI rose to 51.2 from 48.0 in August, also marking the sector's first expansion since December 2025. Meanwhile, manufacturing growth slowed, with the PMI falling to 50.6 from 51.1.

Data released by Eurostat showed Eurozone producer price inflation accelerated in August with prices increasing 8.2% on a yearly basis, following July's 5.8% rise. Economists had forecast an annual growth of 8.1%.

On a monthly basis, producer prices grew 1.9%, in line with expectations, and faster than the 1.6% rise posted in July. Producer prices in the EU climbed 1.9% on a monthly basis and advanced 8% from the previous year.

Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global UK Composite PMI came at 52.0 in September, revised slightly higher from the preliminary estimate of 51.7 but down from 52.5 in August, marking a three-month low.

The slowdown was due to softer growth in both services sector and manufacturing sector activity. The Services PMI for September came in a 52.1, down from 52.5 in August, while manufacturing PMI score for September was 51.9, up slightly from August's 51.7.