European Stocks Close Broadly Lower Ahead Of Crucial Economic Data

European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday with investors reacting to quarterly earnings updates and making largely cautious moves ahead of key U.S., eurozone and Chinese economic data due this week.

Monthly survey data from the European Commission showed Eurozone economic confidence weakened unexpectedly in February.

The economic sentiment index fell to 95.4 from 96.1 in the previous month. The score was forecast to rise to 96.7. At -9.5, the industrial confidence indicator hit the lowest in six months. Similarly, the services sentiment index dropped to 6.0 from 8.4 a month ago.

By contrast, the consumer confidence index improved to -15.5, as initially estimated, from -16.1 in January.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.35%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.76%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 ended higher by 0.25% and 0.08%, respectively. Switzerland’s SMI ended down 0.23%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkiye closed weak.

Ireland, Norway, Russia and Sweden ended higher, while Belgium and Finland closed flat.

In the UK market, Rolls-Royce Holdings advanced more than 3%. JD Sports Fashion gained about 2.5%. Smurfit Kappa Group, Beazley, Barclays, Kingfisher, 3i, B&M European Value Retail, Melrose Indutries, HSBC Holdings, Natwest Group and Centrica gained 1 to 2%.

St James’s Place tanked more than 21%. The stock fell after the company reported an annual loss primarily due to setting aside 426 million pounds for potential client refunds related to ongoing complaints.

Reckitt Benckiser plunged 12% after fourth quarter like-for-like net sales came in below expectations.

Smith & Nephew ended down 6%, while Taylor Wimpey, Halma, Croda International, Anglo American Plc, Burberry Group, Unite Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Fresnillo, RS Group and BT lost 2 to 5%.

In the German market, Puma surged nearly 5%. MTU Aero Engines climbed about 2.5%. Siemens, HeidelbergCement, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche gained 1 to 2%.

Infineon drifted down 4%. Vonovia ended 2.4% down, while Bayer, Symrise, Fresenius Medical Care, SAP, BASF, Covestro and Henkel ended lower by 1 to 2%.

In Paris, Airbus Group rallied more than 3.5%. Alstom, Saint Gobain, Legrand, Schneider Electric, AXA and Societe Generale gained 1 to 2%.

Teleperformance tanked 14% after Swedish fintech group Klarna’s disclosure that its AI assistant, powered by OpenAI, handled two-thirds of customer service discussions in its first month, sparked competition fears.

WorldLine plunged 10% as the payment firm reported a full-year loss on a 1.15-billion-euro “goodwill impairment” linked to its merchant services activities.

Retailer Casino Group slumped 22% after losses deepened in 2023. STMicroElectronics, Unibail Rodamco and Edenred ended down 2.7 to 3.1%. Danone, Pernod Ricard, Kering and Carrefour lost 1 to 2%.