European Stocks Close Mostly Lower On Geopolitical Concerns

(RTTNews) - European markets closed mostly weak on Friday, with many of them languishing in negative territory almost right through the day's session, as worries about tensions in the Middle East pushed up oil prices, raising concerns about inflation and interest rates.

Tech stocks drifted lower as concerns over the sector resurfaced amid elevated AI spending and stretched valuations

Oil prices climbed higher as Tehran launched strikes against several countries across the Gulf and wider region following a fresh wave of strikes by the U.S. against Iran amidst a row over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.34%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed lower by 0.34% and 0.47%, respectively. The UK market's FTSE 100 ended 0.27% up, while Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.54%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed weak.

Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Portugal ended higher.

In the UK market, National Grid climbed 3.3%. British American Tobacco, Severn Trent, BAE Systems, SSE, Shell, Kingfisher, BT Group, Imperial Brands, Associated British Foods, Admiral Group, Aviva and Tritax Big Box REIT gained 2%-3%.

Burberry Group dropped nearly 6.5%. The luxury fashion house's recovery continued in the second-quarter even as European & Middle East sales fell 3% amid the Iran war.

Scottish Mortgage, AutoTrader Group, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Antofagasta, St. James's Place, 3i Group, Anglo American Plc, Pershing Square Holdings and GSK lost 2%-3.6%.

Barclays, Informa, Persimmon, IHG, LSEG and Standard Chartered also ended notably lower.

In the German market, Rheinmetall, E.ON, Deutsche Telekom and Bayer gained 1.5%-2.3%. Hannover RE moved higher by 1.2%, while Allianz and RWE posted moderate gains.

Commersbank and Deutsche Bank ended down by about 3.1% and 2.7%, respectively. Siemens, Infineon, Deutsche Boerse, MTU Aero Engines, Merck, Porsche Automobil Holding and Adidas lost 1%-2.3%.

In the French market, Orange climbed about 2.3%. Carrefour, Thales, TotalEnergies, Eurofins Scientific, Edenred and Teleperformance gained 1%-1.5%.

STMicroelectronics shed 4.7%. Publicis Groupe ended down 4%. Renault, Stellantis, Dassault Systemes, Vinci, Legrand, EssilorLuxottica, LVMH, Societe Generale, Hermes International, Pernod Ricard and Kering lost 1%-3%.

In economic news, Eurozone inflation slowed to a three-month low in June, Eurostat confirmed today. Inflation softened to 2.8f% rom 3.2% in May. This was the lowest rate since March and matched the flash estimate released on July 1.

Similarly, core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, eased to 2.4%, in line with estimate, from 2.6% in the prior month.

On a monthly basis, the harmonized index of consumer prices edged down 0.1% in June.

Data from the European Central Bank showed the euro area current account surplus rose to EUR 25 billion in May from EUR 17 billion in the previous month. In the same period last year, the surplus was EUR 26 billion.

In the twelve months to May, the current account surplus totaled EUR 272 billion or 1.7% of GDP, down from EUR 318 billion or 2% a year earlier.