European Stocks Tumble As Russia-Ukraine War Hurts Sentiment

(RTTNews) - European stocks are reeling under a bout of selling pressure on Tuesday following an escalation in the Russia - Ukraine war, and amid uncertainty about U.S. interest-rate trajectory and the outlook for global economic growth.

Russia's warning on its updated nuclear doctrine is weighing on sentiment, prompting investors to move away from riskier assets. The Kremlin said the aim of the updated nuclear doctrine was to make potential enemies understand the inevitability of Russian retaliation for an attack.

Investors are also digesting the latest batch of regional economic data, including the reports on euro area inflation, eurozone current account data, and Swiss trade data.

The pan European Stoxx 600 is down 0.79%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is declining 0.33%, Germany's DAX is down 0.96% and France's CAC 40 is lower by about 1.05%. Switzerland's SMI is down 0.89%. Russia's benchmark is down 1.43%.

In the UK market, Diploma is down more than 6.5% on weak earnings and disappointing revenue guidance.

Melrose Industries is declining 3.2%, while IAG, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Informa, Weir Group, Schrodders, Entain, B&M European Value Retail, Whitbread, Barclays Group, Prudential, Associated British Foods, Lloyds Banking Group, Antofagasta and HSBC Holdings are down 1 to 3%.

Mulberry Group shares are down more than 6%, weighed down by wider first-half loss.

Impeiral Brands is up 2.5% on stronger than expected operating profit in the latest quarter. The company said its expects another strong performance next year.

DCC, BT Group, Endeavour Mining, British Land, Fresnillo, BAE Systems, United Utilities and AstraZeneca are up with sharp to moderate gains.

In the German market, Siemens is down 3.4%. Infineon, Continental, Deutsche Bank, Brenntag, Daimler Truck Holding, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Deutsche Post, Beiersdorf, BASF and Porsche are lower by 1.4 to 3%.

Rheinmetall is rising more than 5%. E.ON and Symrise are up with modest gains.

In the French market, Stellantis is down more than 4%. Vivendi is lower by nearly 3%, while Accor, STMicroElectronics, Renault, Kering, ArcelorMittal, Saint-Gobain, LVMH, BNP Paribas, Teleperformance, Societe Generale, TotalEnergies and Legrand are declining 1.3 to 2.5%.

On the economic front, final data from Eurostat showed the consumer price index in the Euro Area increased 0.3% month-over-month in October, the most in six months, following a 0.1% decline in September. Annual inflation accelerated to 2% in October, up from 1.7% in September.

Core consumer prices in the Euro Area increased 2.7% in October over the same month in the previous year, the data said.

The euro area current account surplus increased in September on a rebound in primary income, data from the European Central Bank showed. The current account surplus totaled EUR 37 billion in September, up from EUR 35 billion in the previous month. The surplus was forecast to fall to EUR 27.0 billion.

Switzerland's foreign trade surplus decreased somewhat in October amid a surge in exports, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed.

The trade surplus rose to CHF 5.97 billion in October from CHF 4.03 billion in September.

In real terms, exports jumped 11.2% over the month, reversing a 2.3% decrease in September. Imports increased at a stable rate of 0.7%. In nominal terms, both exports and imports grew by 10.2% and 1.8%, respectively.