European Stocks Pare Gains In The Final Hour, Close On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - Despite paring gains in the final hour of the session on Wednesday, the UK market managed to close on a positive note, while markets in Germany and France settled lower.

Upbeat Chinese economic data rendered the mood bullish for much of the day's trading session, but sharp selling in the closing minutes as stronger than expected German consumer price inflation data and hawkish remarkts by ECB officials triggered some selling, wiping off some of the gains.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.74%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 lost 0.39% and 0.46%, respectively, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.49%. Switzerland's SMI drifted down 0.38%.

Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended weak.

Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Poland, Russia and Turkiye closed higher, while Ireland and Norway ended flat.

In the UK market, Weir Group shares surged 6.3%. Rio Tinto gained 4.5% and Antofagasta climbed 4.2%. Endeavour Mining, Glencore, Anglo American and ABRDN gained 3 to 4%.

Melrose Industries, Smurfit Kappa Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, M&G, Mondi, Prudential, Fresnillo, Smith (DS) and RS Group gained 1.5 to 3%.

Aston Martin Lagonda, which soared more than 14% earlier in the day, ended with a gain of about 3.2%. The maker of luxury sports cars and grand tourers turned to profit in the fourth quarter with strong sales.

Persimmon plunged more than 12% after the company reported a fall in annual pre-tax profits and forecasting lower completions in 2023.

Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, Ocado Group, Unite Group, Severn Trent, National Grid, United Utilities and Segro ended lower by 2.5 to 4.1%.

In the German market, Siemens Energy rallied 2.8%. BMW, Continental, MTU Aero Engines, Deutsche Post, HeidelbergCement and Mercedes-Benz gained 1 to 2%.

Puma ended nearly 7% down after saying it expects cost pressure on margins to persist in 2023.

Vonovia ended lower by about 6%. Fresenius Medical Care, Fresenius, RWE, Qiagen, Deutsche Bank and Merck also ended weak, albeith with less pronounced losses.

In Paris, Stellantis climbed nearly 3.5%. ArcelorMittal, Saint Gobain, Publicis Groupe, Kering, Bouygues, Schneider Electric and Thales gained 1 to 2.2%.

Eurofins Scientific tanked 12.7%. BNP Paribas ended more than 3% down on reports that Belgium was preparing the sale of a third of its 7.8% equity stake in the French bank.

Carrefour, Unibail Rodamco an, Societe Generale lost 2.7 to 3.4%, while Renault, Engie and Credit Agricole ended lower by 1 to 1.2%.

In economic news, Euro area factory activity continued to contract in February despite production ending an eight-month sequence of decline amid the easing supplier bottlenecks and improved raw material availability, final survey data from S&P Global showed.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, fell to 48.5 in February from 48.8 in January.

Germany's jobless rate remained stable in February underscoring the strength of the labor market despite strong signs of recession, official data showed.

The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent in February, the Federal Labor Agency reported. The rate also came in line with expectations.

Germany's consumer price inflation held steady in February, as a slowdown in energy prices was offset by an acceleration in the price growth of food stuffs, preliminary data from Destatis showed.

The consumer price index climbed 8.7% year-over-year in February, the same increase as in January. Meanwhile, economists had expected inflation to ease to 8.5%.

Switzerland's retail sales declined for the fourth successive month in January, as sales of both food and non-food items contracted, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed.

Retail sales adjusted for sales days and holidays fell a working-day adjusted 2.2% year-on-year in January, slower than the 3% drop in December.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said in his speech at Brunswick Group's Cost of Living Conference in London that further increase in the interest rate might be required to achieve the UK inflation target on a sustainable basis.

ECB's Joachim Nagel said today that the central bank might need significant rate hikes beyond March to combat high inflation.