Major European Markets Pare Early Gains, Close Slightly Weak

The major European markets closed lower on Wednesday as persisting concerns about the Ukraine – Russia war weighed on sentiment and rendered the mood cautious. The markets witnessed some strong buying early on in the session, but investors chose to lighten commitments as the day progressed.

On the geopolitical front, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said it would stay closed Wednesday after receiving a warning of a potentially significant Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital.

The precautionary step came after Russian officials promised a response to President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets on Russian soil with U.S.-made missiles — a move that angered the Kremlin.

The Greek and Spanish embassies in Kyiv have closed to the public today, after air raid sirens were activated in the Ukrainian capital several times overnight.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.02%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.17%, Germany’s DAX settled lower by 0.29% and France’s CAC 40 ended 0.43% down. Switzerland’s SMI settled with a marginal loss of 0.02%.

Other markets in Europe closed on a mixed note. Netherlands, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate losses. Austria, Iceland and Portugal edged down marginally.

Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Norway and Poland ended higher, while Spain closed flat.

In the UK market, Vistry Group closed down 4.6%. B&M European Value Retail ended lower by 4.6%, while Convatec Group and Admiral Group closed lower by about 4.1% and 4%, respectively.

JD Sports Fashion, Berkeley Group Holdings, Persimmon, Howden Joinery, Airtel Africa, Segro, Marks & Spencer, Taylor Wimpey and Melrose Industries lost 2.1 to 3.3%.

Sage Group shares zoomed nearly 18% after the company reported strong annual results and announced a new share buyback program.

Severn Trent climbed about 1.4% thanks to a significant turnaround in interim profits.

Imperial Brands gained 1.6%. Anglo American Plc, Prudential, Natwest Group, Barclays Group and IAG also ended notably higher.

In the German market, Porsche closed down nearly 4%. Bayer ended 2.7% down. Mercedes-Benz, Fresenius, Commerzbank, Fresenius Medical Care, Sartorius, Rheinmetall, RWE, Volkswagen, Puma, BASF and Symrise lost 1 to 2%.

Brenntag rallied more than 2%. Siemens Healthineers, SAP, Zaland and Qiagen posted modest gains.

In Paris, Renault closed down by about 2.5%. Capgemini, BNP Paribas, Stellantis, Thales, STMicroElectronics, Saint Gobain and Pernod Ricard lost 1 to 2%.

Edenred gained about 2.5% following a rating upgrade. Societe Generale climbed 1.6%, while Unibail Rodamco, Dassault Systemes, Kering, Eurofins Scientifica posted modest gains.

On the economic front, UK consumer price inflation accelerated more than expected in October, lowering the chances of a rate cut at the upcoming monetary policy meeting in December.

The consumer price index rose 2.3% on a yearly basis, following September’s 1.7% increase, which was the lowest since April 2021, the Office for National Statistics reported today.

The rate again exceeded the Bank of England’s 2% target and also remained above economists’ forecast of 2.2%.

Core inflation edged up unexpectedly to 3.3% from 3.2% in September. The core rate was seen at 3.1%.

Germany’s producer prices dropped 1.1% in October on a yearly basis, following a 1.4% fall in the prior month, data from Destatis showed. Month-on-month, producer prices rebounded 0.2% in October after falling 0.5% in September.

Eurozone construction output dropped 0.1% monthly after remaining flat in in August, data from Eurostat showed. The yearly decline in construction output eased to 1.6% from 2.5%.

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