European Stocks Close Lower Again On Rate Jitters, Recession Worries

European stocks closed lower on Wednesday, extending recent losses, as concerns that the Federal Reserve will continue with its aggressive rate hikes hurt sentiment.

Data showing China’s exports and imports both shrank their weakest level since mid-2020 in November weighed as well.

Investors also digested the latest batch of economic data from the region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.62% down. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.43%, Germany’s DAX ended lower by 0.57% and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.41%, while Switzerland’s SMI shed 0.89%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate losses.

Ireland and Russia ended marginally down. Greece and Poland closed higher, while Spain settled flat.

In the UK market, Ashtead Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Harbour Energy, Glencore, BT Group, RS Group, BP and Prudential lost 2 to 3.5%.

Shell, WPP, Halma, Anglo American Plc, Antofagasta and Pershing Square Holdings also ended sharply lower.

GSK rallied more than 7.5% after a favourable U.S. court ruling involving the heartburn drug Zantac.

Ocado Group, Haleon, Smith (DS), Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Smith & Nephew, Smurfit Kappa Group, Sage Group, Frasers Group and ICP gained 1 to 3.6%.

In the German market, Infineon Technologies, Volkswagen, Adidas, Deutsche Wohnen, Porsche Automobil and Continental lost more than 1%.

Puma climbed 2.5% and Zalando surged 2.3%. HelloFresh, Qiagen, Fresenius Medical Care and Fresenius gained 1 to 1.8%.

In Paris, Kering ended more than 4% down. Alstom, Airbus, Thales, Michelin, Orange, ArcelorMittal, STMicroElectronics and TotalEnergies lost 1 to 3%.

Airbus Group shares ended more than 1% down after the aerospace major announced that it is unlikely to meet its 2022 commercial aircraft delivery target.

Sanofi rallied nearly 7% and Teleperformance gained about 3.25%.

In economic releases, the euro area economy posted a better-than-initially estimated growth in the third quarter on household spending and investment, but the revision little changes the bleak outlook for a recession in the coming quarters. The 19-member currency bloc grew an upwardly revised 0.3% sequentially, but the pace was slower than the 0.8% expansion logged in the second quarter.

Official data showed earlier today that German industrial production dropped 0.1% on a monthly basis in October, slower than the expected fall of 0.6%.

Nonetheless, the fall was in contrast to the revised 1.1% increase seen in September.

Separately, U.K. housing market continued to slow in November as house prices decreased for a third month in a row and at the steepest rate in over 14 years, survey results from the Lloyds Bank unit Halifax and S&P Global showed.

The house price index dropped 2.3% month-on-month as households reel under the pressures of a cost-of-living crisis and an economic recession.

Switzerland’s unemployment rate increased slightly in November, in line with expectations, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said.

The unadjusted unemployment rate rose to 2% in November from 1.9% in October. In the corresponding month last year, the jobless rate was 2.5%.