European Stocks Close Weak After Cautious Session

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed weak on Thursday with investors making cautious moves, digesting mixed corporate earnings from top U.S. companies and fretting about the economic outlook.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.15%. Germany's DAX drifted down 0.62% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.14% down, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Switzerland's SMI ended higher by 0.05% and 0.21%, respectively.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Turkiye ended weak.

Netherlands, Poland and Russia closed higher, while Sweden ended flat.

In the UK market, Smith (DS), Antofagasta, Smurfit Kappa Group, Mondi, Persimmon, Anglo American Plc, IHG, Whitbread, Rio Tinto, BT Group, Airtel Africa, Standard Chartered and Prudential lost 1 to 3%.

Segro rallied more than 3.5%. Haleon, Beazley, Smith & Nephew, Croda International, Experian, Relx, Next, Glencore and Hiscox gained 1.5 to 3%.

Rentokil Initial climbed 1.8%.

In the German market, Sartorius plunged nearly 11%. Continental, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Vonovia, Infineon Technologies, Fresenius and Porsche lost 2.5 to 4%.

Daimler Truk Holding, Siemens Healthineers and Hannover Rueck gained 1.6 to 2%. Munic RE, Deutsche Boerse, MTU Aero Engines and Symrise also posted notable gains.

In Paris, Renault ended nearly 8% down the carmaker said it is reviewing its pricing policies for electric cars worldwide.

Stellantis shed more than 5% and Michelin ended lower by about 4.3%. WorldLine, Alstom, Carrefour, Capgemini, Bouygues, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale lost 1.2 to 3%.

L'Oreal, Hermes International and LVMH gained 1.3 to 2%. Kering, Pernod Ricard, Airbus Group, Thales and Vivendi ended modestly higher.

On the economic front, Germany's producer price inflation eased for the sixth straight month in March to reach its lowest level in nearly two years amid a sharp slowdown in energy prices, preliminary data from Destatis showed on Thursday.

The producer price index, or PPI, climbed 7.5% year-over-year in March, much slower than the 15.8% rise in February. Economists had forecast the price growth to ease to 9.8%.

Further, the latest inflation rate was the weakest since May 2021, when prices had risen 7.2%.

French manufacturers' confidence decreased further in April to reach its lowest level in five months, as the expected trend in production and the level of overall order books worsened, survey results from the statistical office Insee showed.

The manufacturing confidence index dropped to 101.0 in April from 104 in the previous month. The expected score was 103.

On an unadjusted basis, the euro area trade balance turned to a surplus of EUR 4.6 billion compared to a deficit of EUR 9.4 billion in the previous year, data from Eurostat showed.

Exports climbed 7.6% year-over-year in February, and imports grew at a comparatively slower rate of 1.1%.

A large majority of policymakers on the European Central Bank Governing Council favored a 50 basis point hike in March to avoid further uncertainty in the backdrop of the recent banking crisis and also because inflation continued to stay well above the bank's target, minutes of the latest rate-setting session showed Thursday.

In March, the Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, hiked its interest rates by 50 basis points as policymakers expect inflation to remain "too high for too long".

"It was acknowledged that in the current situation of heightened uncertainty a decision had to be taken with imperfect information," the minutes of the March ECB policy session said. Risks were seen on both sides, the bank said.