Major European Markets Close Roughly Flat

(RTTNews) - Major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday as investors largely refrained from making big moves while following the developments on the geopolitical front and awaiting U.S. tech major Nvidia's earnings update due later in the day.

Easing worries about inflation and interest rates following a drop in oil prices amid hopes the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened sooner than later helped keep market undertone fairly steady. Oil's recovery later on resulted in markets paring some or most of their early gains.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended flat. The UK's FTSE 100 edged down 0.07%, Germany's DAX crept up 0.08% and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.27%. Switzerland's SMI closed higher by 0.12%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Sweden and Türkiye closed higher.

Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Russia ended weak, while Finland, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain closed flat.

In the UK market, JD Sports Fashion, IG Group Holdings, British American Tobacco, Howden Joinery Group, Standard Chartered, Persimmon, Diploma, Imperial Brands, Airtel Africa, Games Workshop, Coca-Cola HBC, Admiral Group and IMI gained 1%-3%.

The Sage Group dropped by about 3.7% after US software peer Intuit issued a cautious outlook, citing potential impact of artificial intelligence on the sector.

Compass Group, 3i Group, AstraZeneca, Autotrader Group, Entain, Fresnillo, Experian, LSEG, Relx, BP and Tesco also closed notably lower.

In the German market, Heidelberg Materials moved up by over 5%. Deutsche Bank gained 4.3%. Commerzbank, MTU Aero Engines, Rheinmetall, Qiagen, E.ON and Fresenius closed higher by 1%-3%.

SAP ended nearly 3% down. Adidas, Volkswagen, Siemens Healthineers, RWE and Siemens Energy shed 1%-1.25%.

In the French market, ArcelorMittal, Kering, Safran, Accor, Saint-Gobain, BNP Paribas, Michelin, Schneider Electric gained 1%-3.2%.

Capgemini drifted lower by about 2.7%. Eurofins Scientific, Engie, Orange, Bouygues, Teleperformance, Unibail Rodamco, Publicis Groupe and Renault also ended weak.

In economic news, a report from the Confederation of British Industry showed headline sales balance fell to -48 in August from -26 in July, well below market expectations of -24.