European Stocks Close Lower As Cease-fire Hopes Fade

A day after surging higher amid hopes about encouraging progress in Russia-Ukraine cease-fire talks, European stocks lost ground, as doubts about Russia’s promise to scale down military operations in Ukraine rendered the mood cautious and prompted investors to lighten commitments.

Data showing a drop in eurozone economic confidence in the month of March weighed as well on sentiment.

Ukraine reacted with skepticism to Russia’s promise in negotiations to scale down military operations while the United States warned the threat isn’t over.

U.S President Joe Biden asked whether the Russian announcement was a sign of progress in the talks or an attempt by Moscow to buy time to continue its assault.

The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 0.41%. Germany’s DAX tumbled 1.45% and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.74%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 moved up 0.55%, while Switzerland’s SMI ended 0.66% down.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden ended weak.

The Russian market rallied sharply. Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Turkey also closed higher, while Belgium ended flat.

Mining and energy shares moved higher on firm commodity prices. Bank stocks were mostly weak.

In the UK market, Pearson tumbled nearly 6%. JD Sports Fashion, Smith (DS), Ashtead Group, Melrose Industries, Lloyds Banking Group, CRH, Kingfisher, Burberry Group, Barclays Plc and IAG ended lower by 3 to 5%.

Anglo American Plc, Shell, Glencore, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, BP, Endeavour Mining, BAE Systems, United Utilities Group, Severn Trent and Vodafone Group gained 2 to 5%.

In the German market, Continental plunged more than 6%. HeidelbergCement, Deutsche Post, BASF, Covestro, Zalando, Siemens, Infineon Technologies, Deutsche Bank and BMW shed 3 to 4.7%.

Stratec Biomedical Systems shares ended more than 2.5% down after the company said its fourth-quarter earnings per share fell 63%.

Siemens Healthineers rallied 2.3%. HelloFresh gained about 1.3%.

In Paris, Faurecia plunged more than 8.5%. Valeo ended lower by about 6.5%. Saint Gobain, Renault, Societe Generale, Air France-KLM, BNP Paribas, Michelin, Kering, Safran, Danone, Airbus Group, Credit Agricole, Sodexo and LVMH lost 2 to 4.5%.

Thales, Pernod Ricard and Carrefour gained 1.3 to 1.8%. Sanofi ended nearly 1% up.

In economic releases, U.K. shop prices increased at the fastest pace in more than a decade in March, data released by the British Retail Consortium showed.

The shop price index advanced 2.1% on a yearly basis in March, following a 1.8% rise in February. This was the fastest increase since September 2011. Non-food prices were up 1.5%.

Eurozone economic confidence weakened more-than-expected in March mainly due to plummeting consumer confidence, monthly survey results from the European Commission showed.

The economic sentiment index fell to 108.5 in March from 113.9 a month ago. The reading was seen at 109.0.

The consumer confidence declined sharply to -18.7, in line with the flash estimate, from -8.8 in February. The decrease was largely caused by the collapse in households’ expectations about the general economic situation and own future financial situation.

Survey data from the KOF economic institute showed that a leading indicator of key turning points in Switzerland’s economy dropped sharply in March on concerns over the impact of the war in Ukraine.

The KOF Economic Barometer dropped to 99.7 from 105.3 in February, which was revised from 105.0. Economists had forecast a score of 100.8. The reading fell below it long-term average.

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