European Stocks Close On Mixed Note Amid Geopolitical, Trade Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday after a cautious session as investors awaited clarity on the trade front. The impasse in Ukraine peace talks and data showing a bigger than expected increase in UK inflation weighed on sentiment.

A downward revision in U.S. federal deficit weighed as well. Investors also awaited the outcome of the G7 finance ministers' meeting for directional clues.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.04%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 crept up 0.06%, Germany's DAX gained 0.36%, and France's CAC 40 closed down 0.4%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 0.22% down.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands and Norway ended higher.

In the UK market, SSE plc shares ended down 1.7% after the company reported pretax profit of 1.85 billion pounds for the year ended 31 March 2025 compared to 2.50 billion pounds, prior year. Earnings per share was 108.1 pence compared to 156.5 pence.

Shares of drug firm AstraZeneca gained 1% after the company announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of EsoBiotec.

Close Brothers shares ended lower by 3.5% after the loan book decreased 0.9% in the third quarter and 3.5% year-to-date to 9.7 billion pounds in its banking division.

Severn Trent gained nearly 2.5% as the water utility delivered strong annual profit growth and said it expects EPS to double by 2028.

Sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion tanked more than 10% after reporting lower annual profit.

Marks & Spencer closed down 2.8% after projecting a 300-million-pound loss due to a recent cyberattack, has recovered well and is currently up nearly 2%.

In the French market, Michelin ended nearly 5% down. Kering, LVMH, Hermes International, Teleperformance, TotalEnergies and Saint Gobain are down 1 to 2.5%.

L'Oreal and Capgemini both closed higher by more than 1%. Carrefour, Danone, Dassault Systemes, Accor and Renault posted modest gains.

In the German market, Infineon Technologies gained about 2.3% after the company said it would develop a new power delivery chip with Nvidia.

Deutsche Telekom, Commerzbank, E.ON, Rheinmetall, Brenntag, Bayer, Deutsche Bank, Allianz and Deutsche Boerse gained 1 to 2%.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK's consumer price index rose 3.5% year-on-year in April, faster than the 2.6% increase in March. Inflation was expected to rise to 3.3%.

On a monthly basis, the CPI advanced at a faster pace of 1.2% after rising 0.3% in March. This was also faster than the forecast of 1.1%.

Core inflation that excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose to 3.8% from 3.4% in March.

Prices of goods grew 1.7% annually after rising 0.6%. Likewise, services inflation rose to 5.4% from 4.7%.