Major European Markets Close Lower After Choppy Session

The major European markets closed lower on Monday after a choppy session with investors looking for direction amid some weak economic data. Slightly easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates after softer than expected U.S. jobs data last Friday helped limit markets’ downside.

Investors continued to react to monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, the latest batch of economic data and earnings updates from the region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.16%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended flat, Germany’s DAX drifted down 0.35% and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.48%, while Switzerland’s SMI edged down 0.03%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended weak.

Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway, Poland, Russia and Turkiye close higher.

In the UK market, Melrose Industries rallied nearly 3%. The pure-play aerospace company said its GKN Aerospace Engines business has signed a new agreement with aircraft engines maker GE Aerospace.

EasyJet, Standard Chartered, Entain, Natwest Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Reckitt Benckiser, Whitbread, HSBC Holdings, Anglo American Plc, Royal Dutch Shell and JD Sports Fashion gained 1 to 2.2%.

Royal Mail declined more than 4%. British Land Company, Carnival, Croda International, Persimmon, Segro, Land Securities, Schrodders, Hargreaves Lansdown and ICP lost 2.2 to 3.3%.

In the German market, Vonovia ended nearly 5% down. BASF, Symrise, Covestro, Sartorius, Brenntag, Deutsche Post, Siemens Energy, HeidelbergCement and MTU Aero Engines ended lower by 1 to 2%.

Adidas gained about 1.2%. Siemens climbed 1.1%, while Commerzbank, Deutsche Boerse, Fresenius and Zalando posted modest gains.

In Paris, WorldLine ended nearly 4% down. Unibail Rodamco ended lower by 3.7%. Teleperformance, Capgemini, Kering, Stellantis and Saint Gobain shed 1 to 3%.

Thales climbed 1.4%. Publicis Groupe advanced 1.2% and Dassault Systemes ended nearly 1% up. TotalEnergies gained about 0.7%.

In economic news, Germany’s factory orders grew unexpectedly in September, with new orders climbing 0.2% on a monthly basis, data from Destatis showed. New orders were expected to fall by about 1%. The statistical office revised the August growth rate to 1.9% from 3.9%.

Cancellations of residential construction projects in Germany rose to a new high in October as housing demand weakened further, results of survey by the ifo institute showed Monday, adding to signs of recession in the biggest euro area economy. The share of companies that reported canceled projects rose to 22.2% from 21.4% in the previous month.

Euro area private sector activity declined at the fastest pace in nearly three years in October due to the sharp fall in business intakes amid the gloomier economic outlook. The HCOB composite output index posted 46.5 in October, in line with the flash estimate, final results of the purchasing managers’ survey by S&P Global showed on Monday.

Euro area investor sentiment rose in November after falling in the previous two months on the back of stronger expectations, results of the monthly survey by the behavioral finance institute Sentix showed Monday.

The eurozone investor confidence index climbed to -18.6 from -21.9 in October. Economists had forecast a score of -22.2.

The economic expectations measure of the survey rose to -10 from -16.8. The score was the strongest since February. The current situation index increased to a three-month high of -26.8 from -27.0.

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