European Stocks Close Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Despite staging a recovery in late afternoon trades, European markets mostly ended on a weak note on Monday as worries about global trade escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he would levy a 50% tariff on EU imports from August 1.

According to media reports, the European Union has prepared a €21 billion ($24.52 billion) tariff package targeting American goods if trade talks between the two sides collapsed.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.32%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed down by 0.94% and 0.44%, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.41% and hit a fresh record high. Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.02%.

Among other markets in Europe, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Russia and Spain ended higher, while Austria closed flat.

In the UK market, AstraZeneca gained more than 2% after its experimental drug baxdrostat proved to be successful in lowering high blood pressure in a late-stage study.

Tesco, National Grid, IAG, Associated British Foods, Babcock International, Standard Chartered, Imperial Brands, Fresnillo, United Utilities, British American Tobacco, Prudential, Kingfisher and Severn Trent gained 1.5 to 2.2%.

Aviva, Vodafone Group, Unilever, HSBC Holdings, Barclays, Sainsbury (J), Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Endeavour Mining also ended notably higher.

Spirax Group ended down 2.6%. JD Sports Fashion, WPP, Melrose Industries, Shell, Antofagasta, BP, DCC, Bunzl and Anglo American Plc lost 1 to 1.7%.

In the German market, Zalando closed more than 5% down. Sartorius ended down 4.7%. Puma, Brenntag, Merck, BMW, Daimler Truck Holding, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Continental, Volkswagen, Infineon, BASF, Siemens and Deutsche Post lost 1 to 3%.

Commerzbank gained more than 2%. Rheinmetall climbed about 1.8%, while E.ON and Qiagen both gained about 1%.

In the French market, defense-related stocks found some support after President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for a massive boost to France's defense spending, citing a greater threat from Russia.

STMicroElectronics, Capgemini, Teleperformance, LVMH, Vivendi, ArcelorMittal, Pernod Ricard, Legrand, Hermes International and TotalEnergies lost 1 to 2.7%.

Orange climbed about 1.8%. Thales, Bouygues, Accor and Unibail Rodamco gained 1 to 1.5%.

In economic news, UK companies reduced their hiring activity further in June amid uncertainty over the business outlook and budget constraints, monthly data from S&P Global revealed Tuesday.

Permanent staff appointments declined at the fastest pace in nearly two years in June and temp billings dropped the most since February, the KPMG/REC Report on Jobs said. Companies pulled back on hiring due to reduced confidence and worries about costs.

Meanwhile, the availability of staff increased amid reports of redundancies and weaker demand for workers. The supply of permanent labor grew at a slightly faster rate than that seen for temporary candidates, in each case the rate of growth was the sharpest registered since November 2020.