European Stocks Close Broadly Lower On Growth Worries, Rate Uncertainty

European stocks closed lower on Tuesday with investors largely reacting to quarterly earnings and other corporate news. Uncertainty about the size of future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and upcoming U.S. presidential election, and persisting tensions in the Middle East weighed as well on stocks.

With about two weeks left before the Nov. 5 election, Treasury yields remained elevated on concerns about the path of the U.S. deficit regardless of which candidate wins the race for the White House.

Data showed earlier in the day that the U.K. budget deficit widened more than estimated in September and also hit the highest level for the month since 2021.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to deliver the Autumn Budget 2024 on October 30. The budget is expected to hike taxes and reduce spending worth GBP 40 billion.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said the budget would require difficult decisions to fix the foundations of the economy and begin delivering on the promise of change.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.21%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.14%, Germany’s DAX drifted down by 0.2% and France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.01%, while Switzerland’s SMI lost 0.8%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed weak.

Iceland, Ireland, Norway and Turkiye ended higher.

In the UK market, Admiral Group, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, British Land, Barratt Redrow, Diploma, Land Securities, Relx, National Grid, Reckitt Benckiser, Next, Halma and Rolls-Royce Holdings lost 1 to 2%.

Mulberry Group shares tumbled more than 8% after the luxury fashion brand rejected a second takeover proposal from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, saying it was “untenable”.

Fresnillo climbed nearly 3%. Melrose Industries gained 2% and IHG closed up 1.73%. British American Tobacco, Entain, Standard Chartered, EasyJet, Smith (DS), Croda International, Spirax Group and Barclays gained 1 to 1.5%.

In the German market, Munich RE ended down by about 2.7%. Vonovia, Brenntag, Allianz, RWE, Hannover Rueck, E.ON, Siemens Healthineers, Henkel, Adidas, Infineon and Deutsche Telekom lost 1 to 2%.

SAP climbed 2.15% after the software giant raised its full-year targets on a strong cloud business in the third quarter.

Deutsche Bank gained about 1.25%, while Rheinmetall, Mercedes-Benz, Sartorius, BMW and Commerzbank posted moderate gains.

In the French market, Eurofins Scientific dropped more than 11%.

Saint-Gobain, Sanofi, Safran, Publicis Groupe, Unibail Rodamco, Engie, Credit Agricole and Legrand closed lower by 0.7 to 1.6%.

Edenred, Essilor, STMicroElectronics, Airbus Group and Accor gained 1.5 to 2.2%. Capgemini, L’Oreal, Dassault Systemes, Kering, LVMH and Stellantis also ended notably higher.

The UK budget deficit widened more than officially estimated in September and also hit the highest level for the month since 2021, the Office for National Statistics reported today. Public sector net borrowing increased to GBP 16.6 billion in September from GBP 14.5 billion in the previous year. This was the third highest September borrowing since monthly records began in January 1993.

Europe’s new car registrations declined for the second straight month in September due to the fall in sales across France, Germany and Italy, data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, showe. New car sales decreased 6.1% in September from a year ago. However, this was much lower than the 18.3% drop seen in August.