European stocks ended on a mixed note on Thursday after seeing some wild swings amid uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery due to spikes in coronavirus cases in several parts of Europe and extension of lockdown measures.
The latest batch of economic data from across the continent and from the U.S., comments from the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that hinted at likely withdrawal of monetary stimulus, updates on vaccination program all impacted price movements in the markets.
A clampdown by regulators on tech companies in China and the threat of Chinese stocks being kicked off U.S. exchanges also kept underlying sentiment cautious.
Investors were also looking ahead to the outcome of the two-day European Council Meeting.
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.07%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended 0.57% down, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.08% and 0.09%, respectively. Switzerland’s SMI advanced 0.32%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed weak.
Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland and Ireland ended higher.
In the UK market, Burberry Group declined 4.6%. Antofagasta, British American Tobacco, Glencore, Natwest Group, DCC, Pershing Square Holdings, Melrose Industries, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Avast, Rolls-Royce Holdings, British Land and BHP Group lost 1.7 to 4%.
On the other hand, Persimmon, Intertek Group, M&G, Barratt Developments, Berkeley Group Holdings, Experian, Taylor Wimpey, Severn Trent and National Grid closed notably higher.
In France, Total, WorldLine, Technip, ArcelorMittal, Air France-KLM and Societe Generale ended notably lower, while Publicis Groupe, Michelin, Legrand, Essilor, Sanofi, LOreal, Teleperformance, Valeo and Carrefour closed with strong gains.
In the German market, Adidas shed more than 6%. Deutsche Wohnen ended nearly 4% down. Deutsche Bank, Vonovia, Thyssenkrupp, Bayer and Infineon Technologies also ended on weak note.
E.ON, Volkswagen, Henkel, Fresenius Medical Care, Linde, Daimler, HeidelbergCement and BMW closed with sharp to moderate gains.
In economic releases, German consumer sentiment is set to improve in April after the easing of the hard lockdown and falling infection rates at the time of the survey, data from market research group GfK revealed.
The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to -6.2 in April from revised -12.7 in March. The reading was forecast to climb to -11.9.
France’s manufacturing business confidence index reading was 98 in March, unchanged from February, survey data from Insee showed. The score is the highest since March last year, when it was at the same level.
Earlier in the day, the Swiss central bank maintained its expansionary monetary policy and raised its inflation projections.
European Stocks Close Mixed After Volatile Session
2021-03-25 17:45:53
