European Stocks Close On Mixed Note As Investors Digest Data, Await Fed Policy

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed on mixed note on Wednesday, with investors reacting to data showing a sharp drop in UK inflation, and awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later today, and the Bank of England's policy announcement due on Thursday.

Data showed U.K. consumer price inflation weakened in February to the lowest since 2021. The consumer price index registered an annual growth of 3.4%, slower than the 4% rise in January. The rate was the lowest since September 2021.

Germany's producer prices declined for the eighth straight month in February, and at a faster-than-expected pace, data published by Destatis showed.

Producer prices registered an annual decrease of 4.1% after declining 4.4% in January. Prices have been falling since July 2023.

Preliminary survey data from the European Commission said pessimism among consumers in the euro area lessened for a second straight month to its highest level in over two years in March and the improvement was better than expected.

The flash consumer confidence index climbed to -14.9 from -15.5 in February. Economists had expected a score of -15.0.

The Fed is widely expected to hold rates unchanged. The focus is on the accompanying statement and economic projections for clues about the outlook for rates.

The pan European Stoxx 600 settled flat. The UK's FTSE 100 edged down 0.01%, and France's CAC 40 ended down 0.48%, while Germany's DAX gained 0.15%. Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.35%.

Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed higher.

Finland, Iceland and Sweden ended weak, while Austria, Belgium, Netherlands closed Norway flat.

In the UK market, St. James's Place gained nearly 5%. Ashtead Group, Halma, Melrose Industries, Croda International, Airtel Africa, Kingfisher, JD Sports Fashion, Segro, Natwest Group and United Utilities gained 2 to 4.3%.

National Grid, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Vodafone, SSE, Severn Trent, Scottish Mortgage, Admiral Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Unite Group, Ocado Group, Anglo American Plc and Beazley also ended notably higher.

Johnson Matthey climbed about 7.5% after the company agreed to sell its medical device components business to Montagu Private Equity for $700 mln in cash.

Prudential dropped more than 4% despite reporting higher earnings. Burberry Group, Smith & Nephew, Weir Holdings, Convatec Group, Unilever and BP lost 1 to 3%.

In the German market, BASF, Covestro, RWE, Siemens, Bayer, Zalando and E.ON gained 1 to 2.3%.

Henkel, Siemens Healthineers, Continental, Daimler Truck Holding, Fresenius, Qiagen, Infineon, Munich RE and Hannover Rueck lost 1 to 2%.

Deutsche Wohnen shares ended 2.2% down after the real estate firm reported a decline in fiscal 2023 group funds from operations and posted sharply wider loss on an after-tax basis in a challenging environment.

In Paris, Teleperformance and Michelin both gained more than 2%. Renault, Airbus Group, Bouygues and Thales advanced 1 to 1.5%.

Kering tumbled nearly 12% after the company said its iconic Gucci brand saw a slowdown in sales. The company has also issued a warning regarding its first quarter sales performance.

TotalEnergies, LVMH, Eurofins Scientific, L'Oreal, Perond Ricard and Safran posted sharp to moderate losses.