European Markets Close Weak

European markets closed slightly weak on Thursday, with most of the markets losing ground towards the end of the session.

Investors were reacting to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement, and tracking a slew of earnings reports and economic data for direction.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended lower by 0.26%. Germany’s DAX shed 0.9%, while The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 edged down by 0.03% and 0.07%, respectively. Switzerland’s SMI drifted down 0.22%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Sweden ended weak.

Austria, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey closed higher, while Czech Republic, Finland and Greece ended flat.

In the UK market, Natwest Group, Relx, Flutter Entertainment, Fresnillo, Renishaw, Johnson Matthey, British American Tobacco, Just Eat Takeaway and Evraz lost 1.7 to 3.3%.

On the other hand, Standard Chartered gained 5.6% after its first-quarter pre-tax profit beat consensus estimate.

Smith & Nephew gained about 5.5%. Unilever rose sharply after the company announced a share buyback program after posting better-than-expected quarterly sales.

BT Group rallied nearly 4% after saying it is in early talks with a number of select strategic partners, to explore ways to generate investment, strengthen sports business.

Weir Group gained nearly 1% after the company said it expects to deliver growth in full year constant currency profits in line with current market expectations.

Hargreaves Lansdown, Smurfit Kappa Group, HSBC Holdings, Smith DS, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, St James Place and 3i Group also ended notably higher.

In the French market, Faurecia, Valeo and Renault ended more than 4% down. Unibail Rodamco, Michelin, Saint Gobain, Schenider Electric, Accor and ArcelorMittal also declined sharply.

STMicroElectronics, Danone, Pernod Ricard, Cap Gemini, LOreal, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas closed higher.

In Germany, Munich RE tumbled more than 6%. Continental, RWE, Lufthansa, Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler also declined sharply, while Deutsche Bank and Thyssenkrupp closed with strong gains.

In economic releases, Germany’s unemployment rose unexpectedly in April, data released by the Federal Labor Agency showed.

The number of people out of work increased by 9,000 in April, in contrast to the expected fall of 10,000 and March’s decrease of 6,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.0 percent in April, in line with expectations.

Germany’s consumer price inflation accelerated to its highest level in two years in April, preliminary data from Destatis showed. The consumer price index rose 2% year-on-year following the 1.7% increase in March. Economists had forecast 1.9% inflation. The latest inflation rate was the highest since April 2019, when it was at the same level.

Germany’s import prices grew 6.9% year-on-year in March, much faster than the 1.4% rise in February. This was the fastest growth since April 2011, when prices advanced 7.7% and also higher than economists’ forecast of 6%.

The euro zone economic sentiment indicator rose strongly by 9.4 to 110.3 in April, beating expectations for a score of 103.0.

UK car production increased for the first time since summer 2019, according to a report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT. Car output grew 46.6% in March against Covid hit 2020 when pandemic forced factories to close. Production expanded in March after 18 months of decline, with an output of 115,498 units.