European Stocks Close Lower In Cautious Trade Ahead Of Crucial Economic Data

European stocks closed lower on Monday after spending almost the entire duration of the day’s session in negative territory, as the mood remained cautious ahead of crucial economic data from across the European region, the U.S., and China.

Growth worries returned to the fore after data showed profits at China’s industrial companies rose at a much slower pace in October than the prior month.

Euro area price growth outlook continued to be surround by significant uncertainty and it is not yet time to declare the end of the fight against inflation, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Monday.

“Looking ahead, we expect the weakening of inflationary pressures to continue, even though headline inflation may rise again slightly in the coming months, mainly owing to some base effects,” Lagarde said in a speech at a European Parliament hearing.

A slew of crucial economic data from the U.S., including reports on GDP, personal income, manufacturing activity, and pending home sales are due this week.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.34%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 both ended lower by 0.37%. Germany’s DAX drifted down 0.39% and Switzerland’s SMI closed lower by 0.54%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Poland closed weak.

Spain and Sweden edged down marginally, while Greece, Portugal and Turkiye ended higher.

In the UK market, St. James’s Place, BAE Systems, AstraZeneca, Burberry Group, Flutter Entertainment, Prudential, Rentokil Initial, Entain, Lloyds Banking Group and Schrodders ended lower by 1 to 2.3%.

Fresnillo rallied more than 5%. Rightmove surged 4.5% after the company raised part of its revenue guidance for 2023. Johnson Matthey and Carnival gained about 3% and 2.6%, respectively.

Admiral Group, The Sage Group, J Sainsbury, Barratt Developments, Hiscox, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Auto Trader Group, Segro and Taylor Wimpey advanced 1 to 2%.

In the German market, BASF and Bayer, both ended more than 3% down. Porsche ended down 2% and MTU Aero Engines closed lower by about 1.4%, while Zalando, Volkswagen, Brenntag and Continental shed 0.8 to 1.1%.

Hannover Rueck, Vonovia, E.ON., Fresenius, Deutsche Post and Beiersdorf posted moderate gains.

In Paris, Thales ended 1.9% down. LVMH, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Pernod Ricard and Safran ended lower by 0.7 to 1.4%.

Unibail Rodamco climbed about 2.6%. Orange, Sanofi, ArcelorMittal and Engie posted modest gains.

On the economic front, UK retailers expect sales to fall for the eighth straight month in December but the pace of decrease is forecast to slow amid uptick in sentiment, survey results from the Confederation of British Industry showed on Monday.

The retail sales balance rose to -11% in November from -36% in October, the Distributive Trades Survey results revealed. Only a net 6% forecast sales to fall again in the festive period.

Survey data from the ifo institute showed German export expectations improved in November, with the ifo export expectations indicator climbing to minus 3.8 points in November from minus 6.3 points in October.