dpa
Frankfurt
European stocks closed lower on Tuesday with investors, back to trading after a long Easter weekend, pressing sales at several counters amid renewed uncertainty about the outlook for US interest rates.
Recent data showing a bigger than expected increase in consumer price growth, and an improvement in US manufacturing activity in March, weighed on the markets, as did the latest batch of economic data from the region.
The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.8%. The UK’s FTSE 100 ended down 0.22%, Germany’s DAX ended lower by 1.13% and France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.92%, while Switzerland’s SMI settled lower by 1.15%.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Spain, Sweden and Turkey ended weak.
Norway, Portugal and Russia closed lower, while Austria, Netherlands and Poland ended flat.
In the UK market, Entain, Reckitt Benckiser, Burberry Group, Ocado Group, RightMove, Bunzl, EasyJet and Compass Group ended lower by 3 to 5%.
Land Securities, Unite Group, Scottish Mortgage, Persimmon, Segro, Taylor Wimpey, Howden Joinery, GSK, WPP, Barratt Developments, Diploma, Haleon, RS Group and Rolls Royce Holdings lost 2 to 3%.
Fresnillo climbed more than 7%. Anglo American Plc rallied nearly 5%.
Royal Dutch Shell, Glencore, BP, Convatec Group and Rio Tinto gained 2 to 3.5%. Antofagasta, Beazley and Diageo also ended notably higher.
In the German market, Vonovia, Merck, Sartorius and Zalando lost 3 to 3.7%. HeidelbergCement, Infineon, Adidas, Fresenius Medical Care, Beiersdorf, SAP, Deutsche Post, Puma, Fresenius, Bayer, Allianz, Hannover Rueck and Siemens Healthineers also declined sharply.
Siemens Energy, BASF and Henkel posted strong gains.
In Paris, Stellantis, Sanofi, Legrand, Dassault Systemes, Schneider Electric, STMicroElectronics and Safran lost 2.2 to 3.3%. Airbus Group, L’Oreal, Capgemini, Danone, LVMH, Pernod Ricard, Michelin, Vinci and Publicis Groupe also ended notably lower.
TotalEnergies climbed nearly 4%. Eurofins Scientific and Renault both gained more than 1.5%. WorldLine, Carrefour, Engie and Credit Agricole posted modest gains.
In economic news from Europe, consumer price inflation in Germany slowed for a third straight month in March to its lowest level in nearly three years but core inflation remained high.