European stocks failed to hold early gains and closed broadly lower on Monday as investors digested a slew of corporate earnings updates, and looked ahead for more results, and some key economic data, and policy meetings of central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.
Escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed on sentiment. The Middle East braced for a potential flare-up in violence after Israeli authorities said a rocket from Lebanon struck a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, killing several children and teens in what the military called the deadliest attack on civilians since Oct. 7.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.2%. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 ended lower by 0.53% and 0.98%, respectively. The U.K.’s FTSE 10 edged up 0.08%, while Switzerland’s SMI closed 0.22% down.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Greece, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed weak.
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Poland and Portugal ended higher, while Sweden closed flat.
In the UK market, JD Sports Fashion gained more than 4%. Airtel Africa and Natwest Group gained 2.9% and 2.63%, respectively.
Segro climbed about 2.05%. Prudential, Astrazeneca, Barratt Developments, Relx, M&G, Persimmon, Severn Trent, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, British American Tobacco, Tesco, Frasers Group and United Utilities ended higher by 1 to 1.7%.
Entain lost about 8.1%. Reckitt Benckiser tumbled 8.8% amid concerns about potential litigation after a U.S. jury found that infant formula by Abbott Laboratories had caused a girl to develop a dangerous bowel disease.
EasyJet, Anglo American Plc, Burberry Group, Intertek Group, Whitbread, Beazley, Glencore, Associated British Foods, Antofagasta, Pershing Square Holdings, Fresnillo, Haleon and Kingfisher lost 1 to 2%.
In the German market, Merck rallied more than 3% after raising forecast for the group. Infineon, Qiagen, RWE, Adidas and Siemens Healthineers gained 1 to 2.4%.
Mercedes-Benz, BASF, Henkel, MTU Aero Engines, BMW, SAP, HeidelbergCement, Zalando, Siemens, Commerzbank and Beiersdorf lost 1 to 2%.
In the French market, Unibail Rodamco ended more than 2.5% up. STMicroElectronics, Vivendi, Thales and Teleperformance gained 0.7 to 1.3%.
Stellantis dropped about 3.4%. Hermes International, Pernod Ricard, Vinci, Accor, Bouygues, Saint-Gobain, Capgemini, Dassault Systemes, Safran, Societe Generale, L’Oreal, Renault, LVMH, BNP Paribas and Sanofi lost 1 to 2.5%.
Dutch medical devices maker Philips zoomed nearly 15% after its second-quarter results exceeded analysts’ estimates.
In economic news, UK retail sales declined at a faster pace in July on unfavorable weather conditions and market uncertainty, the Distributive Trades Survey results from the Confederation of British Industry showed.
The retail sales balance declined to -43% in July from -24% in June. A net 32% expects sales volume to fall next month.
Retailers continued to report disappointing sales for the time of year and they expect sales to remain below seasonal norms in August.
Market Analysis
European Stocks Close Weak Ahead Of Key Economic Events, Earnings
2024-07-29 16:41:03
