European Stocks Close Weak

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed weak on Tuesday despite paring most of their early losses, as the mood remained cautious with investors reacting to the latest batch of economic data from the region and looking ahead to the monetary policy announcements from major central banks, including the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan this week.

Higher bond yields and elevated oil prices amid persisting supply concerns due to the conflict in the Middle East weighed on sentiment.

Oil prices moved up sharply after Saudi Arabia closed a critical pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz following a drone attack.

Additionally, a highly anticipated meeting in Oman between Iran and Gulf States was postponed at the last minute in the absence of conditions conducive to a constructive dialogue.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.28%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed down 0.37%, Germany's DAX drifted lower by 0.15% and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.34%. Switzerland's SMI ended with a loss of 0.5%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgiium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia and Türkiye closed weak.

Finland, Norway and Portugal ended higher, while Greece, Poland, Spain and Sweden closed flat.

In the UK market, LSEG ended 3.2% down. IG Group Holdings, Relx, Glencore, Antofagasta, Aberdeen Group, HSBC Holdings, Fresnillo, Diageo, Experian and Burberry Group shed 2%-2.7%.

Barclays, Standard Chartered, Associated British Foods, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, 3i Group and Unilever also ended notably lower.

BAE Systems and Babcock International both gained about 3.4%. Shell, BP, Kingfisher, Airtel Africa, Legal & General, British Land, Admiral Group, Marks & Spencer, Persimmon, Lion Finance, Land Securities, Severn Trent, Standard Life, Centrica and United Utilities gained 1%-2%.

In the German market, Zalando ended down by about 4%. Deutsche Bank, Daimler Truck Holding, Deutsche Boerse, Continental, Adidas, Bayer, Siemens and BASF lost 1%-2.3%.

Rheinmetall moved up more than 3.5%. Qiagen, MTU Aero Engines, RWE, Symrise and Gea Group gained 1.2%-2%.

In the French market, Hermes International, LVMH, Teleperformance and EssilorLuxottica lost 2%-3%.

Sanofi, Publicis Groupe, Kering, BNP Paribas, Accor, Dassault Systemes, Danone, Stellantis, Societe Generale, Capgemini, Michelin and L'Oreal also ended weak.

Thales climbed more than 4%. Eurofins Scientific, Unibail Rodamco, TotalEnergies, Schneider Electric, ArcelorMittal, Carrefour and STMicroelectronics gained 0.8%-2%.

In economic news, data from the federal statistical office Destatis showed Germany's wholesale prices increased 6.8% year-on-year in August, accelerating from a 5.3% rise in the previous month and marking the 21st consecutive month of increase. On a monthly basis, wholesale prices rose 0.9%, accelerating from a 0.2% gain in July, marking the fastest pace in four months and surpassing market expectations of 0.1%.

A report from the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) said Germany's ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment edged up to 34.7 in September 2026, its highest level since February, but fell short of market expectations of 37. The assessment of current conditions also improved markedly, surging 14 points to -47.1, its highest level since June 2023.

Data released by INSEE showed the annual inflation rate in France accelerated to 2.4% in August, up from 2.1% in July and confirming preliminary estimates. This marked the highest reading in three months, driven mainly by a sharp acceleration in energy inflation to 16.7% from 12.6% in July, particularly for petroleum products. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.7% in August, following a 0.6% increase in July.

Meanwhile, the EU-harmonised annual inflation rate accelerated to 2.6% from 2.4%, while monthly HICP inflation rose to 0.7% from 0.6%.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK unemployment rate remained unchanged and wage growth eased in the three months to July period, reflecting the softening labor market conditions.

The unemployment rate came in at 4.9% in the three months to July, the same rate as in the quarter ended June. The rate was forecast to rise to 5%.

The data showed that employers cut 26,000 jobs in August, following a revised 19,000 decline in July and significantly exceeding economists' expectations for a 5,000 reduction.