European Stocks Close Notably Lower On Weak Economic Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed notably lower on Monday as data showing a sharp contraction in Eurozone manufacturing activity in the month of September, and hawkish outlook for Federal Reserve interest rates weighed on sentiment, prompting investors to exit counters.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 1.03%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 1.28%, Germany's DAX shed 0.91% and France's CAC 40 finished 0.94% down, while Switzerland's SMI fell 0.91%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate losses.

Russia edge down marginally, while Iceland and Turkiye closed higher.

In the UK market, ICP, Persimmon, Prudential, SSE, Just Eat Takeaway.cm, Centrica, Fresnillo and Natwest Group ended lower by 3 to 4%.

Barratt Developments, Hiscox, Kingfisher, National Grid, Rentokil Initial, Croda International, Informa, Lloys Banking, Barclays, British American Tobacco and Rolls-Royce Holdings lost 1.7 to 3%.

Pennon climbed about 3%. Intercontinental Hotels, BAE Systems, EasyJet, Entain and United Utilities also closed higher.

In the German market, Fresenius, Deutsche Bank, RWE, E.ON, Sartorius, Commerzbank, BASF and Merck lost 2.3 to 4%.

Siemens Energy, Deutsche Post, MTU Aero Engines and HeidelbergCement also ended weak.

Zalando gained about 2.3%. Puma climbed 1.1%, while Continental and Porsche posted moderate gains.

In Paris, Edenred plunged nearly 11%. Saint Gobain, WorldLine and Veolia declined 3 to 4%. Teleperformance, Eurofins Scientific, AXA, Renault, Engie, Alstom, Safran and Publicis Groupe lost 1.4 to 2.3%.

Survey Results from S&P Global showed the euro area manufacturing activity remained in the deep contraction zone in September on account of considerable weakness in new orders and accelerated fall in jobs.

The HCOB manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, fell to 43.4 in September from 43.5 in August, final data from S&P Global showed.

The German manufacturing sector remained firmly in the contraction territory. The factory PMI registered 39.6 in September, up from 39.1 in August. The score was below the flash reading of 39.8.

France's manufacturing activity slid deeper into contraction in September, with production and new orders falling at one of their sharpest rates in almost three-and-a-half years. At 44.2, the factory PMI was down from 46.0 in August. The initially estimate score for September was 43.6.

Meanwhile, official data released on Monday suggested that the unemployment rate in the euro area dropped marginally to 6.4% in August from 6.5% in July. In the same period last year, the rate stood at 6.7%.

The UK factory downturn continued in September on weak output, new orders and employment, final survey results from S&P Global showed on Monday.

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply factory Purchasing Managers' Index posted 44.3 in September, up from a 39-month low of 43.0. The reading was above 44.2 estimated initially.

Although the reading improved from August, this was among the weakest seen over the last 14 years. All five sub-indices of PMI signaled weakening of underlying sector performance.

UK house prices fell sharply again in September as stretched affordability damps housing market activity, data from the mortgage lender Nationwide Building Society revealed Monday. The Nationwide house price index posted an annual decline of 5.3 percent, the same pace of decrease as seen in August.

Switzerland's retail sales adjusted for sales days and holidays fell a working-day adjusted 1.8% year-on-year in August, following a 2.5% drop in July, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed.

On a monthly basis, retail sales rebounded a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in August versus a 2.4% decline a month ago. In nominal terms, retail sales fell 0.2% annually, after rising 0.4% monthly in August.