European Stocks Close Sharply Lower As Recession Fears Weigh

(RTTNews) - European stocks nosedived soon after the opening bell Monday morning, and despite recovering some lost ground subsequently and even managing to move closer to the flat line around late afternoon, failed to find support and eventually ended the day's session on a very weak note.

Several markets in the region plunged to multi-month lows as the mood remained extremely bearish as the U.S. President's decision to impose hefty levies on several goods imported into the country, and China's retaliatory move against American goods, and the prospects of more countries joining in to counter Trump's tariffs has raised fears of a global recession.

Weak German industrial production data, and Trump's warning over the weekend that governments would have to pay "a lot of money" to lift sweeping tariffs, added to the woes. The possibility of China exporting goods to the EU at far cheaper rates has raised concerns that Germany's industrial sector might see an erosion in revenues in the near term.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with international leaders at the weekend to discuss the repercussions and future course of action in the wake of reciprocal tariffs announced by the United States.

In separate calls Sunday, Starmer spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and leader of the German Christian Democratic Union party Friedrich Merz.

They all agreed that as with defence and security, this is a new era for the global economy. Europe must rise to meet the moment and ensure the impact on hard-working people is minimized, while working closely with other countries to help maintain wider economic stability, says a statement issued by the UK Prime Minister's Office.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 4.5%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed down 4.38%, Germany's DAX settled 4.13% down, and France's CAC 40 ended 4.78% down. Switzerland's SMI lost 5.16%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended sharply lower.

Denmark and Norway closed moderately lower, while Turkiye ended modestly higher.

In the UK market, Melrose Industries, Relx, Intertek Group, Haleon, AstraZeneca, Reckitt Benckiser, Centrica, M&G, Informa, Aviva, Segro, GSK and National Grid lost 6 to 8%.

BP, Hiscox, Land Securities, IAG, Halma, Coca-Cola HBC, Next, Bunzl, Severn Trent, Croda International, BT Group, Unilever, Shell, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Prudential, Tesco, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Weir Group and Barclays were among the other major losers.

Fresnillo advanced 1.34%. Entain, Natwest Group and Taylor Wimpey posted modest gains.

In the German market, Hannover Rueck, Puma, Munich RE, Sartorius, MTU Aero Engines, Heidelberg Materials, Adidas, Fresenius, Allianz, Siemens, Henkel, Symrise, Merck, SAP and Infineon lost 4 to 8%.

Deutsche Teleom, Deutsche Post, RWE, E.ON., Siemens Healthineers, Continental, Rheinmetall, Daimler Truck Holding and BASF also declined sharply.

Qiagen bucked the trend and gained about 2.3%. Commerzbank climbed nearly 1%.

In the French market, Veolia Environment, Safran, Air Liquide, Airbus, Michelin, AXA, Capgemini and Hermes International lost 6 to 8%.

TotalEnergies, Dassault Systemes, Vivendi, Stellantis, Publicis Groupe, Sanofi, Vinci, Essilor, Thales, LVMH, Danone, Renault, Edenred, L'Oreal, BNP Paribas, Kering and Credit Agricole were among the other big losers.

Data from the Federal Statistical Office Destatis showed industrial production in Germany dropped 1.3% month-over-month in February, following a 2% increase in January. On a yearly basis, industrial activity fell by 4%, following a 1.6% drop in January..

A separate data from Destatis showed Germany's trade surplus increased to EUR 17.7 billion in February 2025 from an upwardly revised EUR 16.2 billion in January. Exports rose by 1.8% (month-on-month) to a ten-month high of EUR 131.6 billion in January, while imports climbed by 0.7% to a 20-month high of EUR 113.8 billion.

Data from Eurostat showed eurozone retail sales grew for the first time in five months in February but the pace of growth was weaker than expected, official data revealed Monday.

Retail trade increased 0.3% month-on-month in February, after remaining flat in the previous three months. The rate was slower than the forecast of 0.5%.

Year-on-year, retail sales increased 2.3% compared to a rise of 1.8% in January. Sales were expected to grow again by 1.8% in February.

Retail sales in the EU27 moved up 0.2% in February from the previous month and climbed 2% from a year ago.

Meanwhile, data showed official reserve assets in France rose for the third consecutive month, reaching a fresh record high of €305.12 billion at the end of March 2025, from €295.98 billion in the previous month.

UK house prices dropped for the second straight month in March as stamp duty holiday ended amid weaker economic outlook, mortgage lender Halifax said.

House prices slid unexpectedly by 0.5% month-on-month, bigger than February's 0.2% drop. This was the second consecutive decline. Prices were forecast to climb 0.2%.

On a yearly basis, growth in house prices remained at 2.8% in January. Average property price cost GBP 296,699 compared to GBP 298,274 in previous month.