Major European Markets Close On Mixed Note

European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday with investors closely tracking the updates on the geopolitical front, and reacting to the latest batch of economic data from the region besides looking ahead to the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting.

Worries about rising inflation, and Concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine and looming sanctions on Russia following alleged atrocities by the Russian troops in Ukraine weighed on sentiment.

The 27-member EU is under pressure to extend sanctions to Russia’s oil and coal sectors for what appear to be war crimes in Ukraine.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.19%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.72%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.65% and 1.28%, respectively. Switzerland’s SMI ended 0.29% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey closed higher.

Russia declined sharply on weak economic data. Austria, Czech Republic, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland and Sweden also ended weak, while Greece, Iceland and Norway closed flat.

In the UK market, National Grid, SSE, United Utilities, Croda International, GlaxoSmithKline and Severn Trent gained 3 to 3.6%.

Hargreaves Lansdown, B&M European Value Retail, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, British Land, Segro, Glencore, Diageo, AstraZeneca and BAE Systems gained 1.8 to 2.6%.

HomeServe shares moved higher after the home repairs and improvements business said it made very good progress in fiscal 2022, delivering an acceleration in performance compared to prior year, in line with expectations.

Airtel Africa tumbled nearly 4%. Melrose Industries, Endeavour Mining, Smiths Group, CRH, Ashtead Group, Barratt Developments, Aveva Group, Smurfit Kappa Group, Ferguson, Rolls-Royce Holdings, IAG and Kingfisher ended lower by 1.5 to 2.5%.

In the German market, HelloFresh surged up more than 4.5%. Deutsche Boerse, RWE, Symrise, Linde, Qiagen, Zalando and Deutsche Telekom gained 1 to 3%.

MTU Aero Engines plunged nearly 6%. Infineon Technologies, Continental, Siemens, HeidelbergCement, Henkel, Deutsche Post and BMW shed 2.5 to 4.5%. BASF, Adidas, Volkswagen, Puma and Covestra also declined sharply.

In the French market, Sanofi and Pernod Ricard moved up by about 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. L’Oreal, Hermes International, Unibail Rodamco and Danone posted modest gains.

Faurecia drifted down nearly 7%. Societe Generale ended nearly 6% down. The ING Group has signed an agreement with Boursorama, a subsidiary of the French lender, to offer services to retail customers of ING in France.

Renault, STMicroElectronics, Veolia, Credit Agricole, Airbus, Atos, BNP Paribas, Saint Gobain, Vinci and ArcelorMittal ended lower by 4 to 6%.

Shares of Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems soared more than 8% after Credit Suisse analysts raised the rating for the stock to “outperform.”

In economic releases, Eurozone PMI data released earlier in the day pointed to a strong expansion in private sector activity in March, helped by robust growth across services. However, business confidence hit a 17-month low due to a record surge in inflation.

Despite strong inflationary pressures, the UK service sector grew the most in ten months in March as the removal of pandemic restrictions and return to offices had led to a sharp rebound in customer demand, final survey data from S&P Global showed on Tuesday.

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply services Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 62.6 in March from 60.5 in February.

The reading was above the flash 61.0. The score signaled the second strongest growth since May 1997.

Russia’s private sector activity contracted in March at the fastest pace since 2020 amid heightened economic and geopolitical uncertainty, survey data from S&P Global showed on Tuesday.

The composite output index posted 37.7 in March, down notably from 50.8 in February. A score below 50.0 indicates contraction in the sector.

There was a marked contraction in business activity as manufacturers and service providers alike recorded substantial declines. The services PMI registered 38.1 in March, down from 52.1 in the previous month.

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