European Stocks Close Weak On Middle East Tensions, Tech Valuation Concerns

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday as a sell-off in technology sector amid valuation concerns and worries about renewed tensions in the Middle East following attacks on two commercial vehicles in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

The sell-off in the sector comes following a near 7% plunge by shares of South Korean memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics amid concerns about spending and demand.

The pan European Stoxx 600 shed 0.65%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended lower by 1.37% and 0.51%, respectively, while the UK's FTSE 100 moved up 0.13%. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.41% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden ended weak. Belgium and Czech Republic declined marginally.

Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Russia and Türkiye closed higher, while Ireland settled flat.

In the UK market, Halma drifted down 4.5% after the safety equipment maker agreed to buy Dreampath Diagnostics, a France-based provider of automated tissue sample management systems for anatomical pathology laboratories.

Airtel Africa dropped 5.2%. Anglo American Plc, Fresnillo, Diploma, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Computacenter, Antofagasta, Aberdeen Group and Weir Group lost 3.1%-4.6%.

Rio Tinto, Scottish Mortgage, Spirax Group, IMI, Smiths Group, Endeavour Mining, BAE Systems, Melrose Industries, Barclays and St. James's Place also declined sharply.

Associated British Foods climbed about 3.75% and Diageo moved up 3.5%. Babcock International, Compass Group, Unilever, Relx, British Land Company, Tesco, Pearson, Reckitt Benckiser, LSEG, Haleon,Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Sainsbury (J) and Land Securities Group also moved up sharply.

BP ended nearly 1.5% up. Shell gained 3.4%. Shell lifted its second-quarter outlook for liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes.

Victrex shares soared 17%. The specialty polymer maker maintained its full-year guidance after reporting third-quarter revenue growth well ahead of expectations.

In the German market, Siemens Energy fell nearly 9% after Barclays lowered the stock's rating to "underweight" from "equal-weight."

Infineon closed more than 8% down. Siemens dropped 4.2%. Gea Group, MTU Aero Engines, Continental, Rheinmetall and RWE lost 1.6%-2.3%.

Beiersdorf, SAP, Fresenius Medical Care, Munich RE, Hannover RE, Deutsche Boerse, Deutsche Post, Adidas, Symrise, Henkel, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens Healthineers and BMW gained 1%-3.5%.

In Paris, STMicroelectronics ended nearly 5% down. Schneider Electric lost 3.7%, while Safran, Societe Generale, Airbus, Bouygues, BNP Paribas, ArcelorMittal, Thales, Credit Agricole and Vinci closed down by 1.4%-2.8%.

Pernod Ricard rallied 5.5%. Carrefour moved up 3.7%. L'Oreal, Teleperformance, Danone, Publicis Groupe, EssilorLuxottica, Sanofi, Orange, Dassault Systemes, Edenred, Capgemini and Kering gained 1%-2.75%.

In economic news, data released by Destatis showed Germany's industrial production grew 0.9% on a monthly basis in May, faster than the 0.2% rise in April. A similar faster growth was last seen in September. Output was expected to grow marginally by 0.1%.

On a yearly basis, industrial production remained flat in May after falling 0.9% in April.

France's trade deficit widened EUR 6.9 billion in May, compared to a shortfall of EUR 5.4 billion in April. In the same period last year, the deficit totaled EUR 6.5 billion.

Exports declined 2% on a monthly basis in May due to a drop in military equipment sales. Meanwhile, imports grew 0.7% from April, reflecting a rise in acquisitions of transport equipment and auto products. On a yearly basis, exports advanced 5.9% and imports increased 5.3%.

UK house prices grew for the first time in four months in June, rising by 0.2% on a monthly basis, a survey by S&P Global conducted for the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax showed. House prices dropped 0.2% in May.

Annual growth in house prices rose slightly to 0.6% from 0.5% n May. The typical property costs GBP 299,330 in June.