European Markets Close Weak On Rate Uncertainty, Growth Concerns

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed broadly lower on Thursday, weighed down by concerns about Trump administration's trade policy, and uncertainty about the outlook for Federal Reserve's interest rates. Investors digested regional data, and the latest batch of economic data from the U.S.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down by about 0.7%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed down by 0.39%, Germany's DAX settled lower by 0.56% and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.41%. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.86% down.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed weak.

Austria, Ireland and Turkiye ended higher.

In the UK market, Convatec Group closed down by 5.6% after the US launched investigations into imports of robotics, industrial machinery, and medical devices.

Phoenix Group Holdings ended lower by 5.4%. AstraZeneca, Barclays, DCC, Ashtead Group, Howden Joinery, Experian and Natwest Group lost 2 to 2.25%.

Standard Chartered, Spirax Group, Berkeley Group Holdings, Marks & Spencer, Antofagasta, Schroders, ICG, M&G and Fresnillo also declined sharply.

Rio Tinto rallied more than 3.5%. 3i Group, Entain, Beazley, Smiths Group, Imperial Brands, Halma, British American Tobacco and Shell also ended notably higher.

JD Sports Fashion found some support after launching a £100 million share buyback program. Shares of healty and safety device maker Halma Plc are up 1% after the company raised its full-year revenue growth forecast.

In the German market, Siemens Healthineers, Heidelberg Materials, Adidas, Brenntag, Puma, Fresenius Medical Care, Daimler Truck Holding, Qiagen, Deutsche Bank, Merck, Zalando, Gea Group, Siemens Energy, Bayer and Fresenius all ended with sharp losses.

E.ON, Deutsche Boerse, Hannover Rueck, Covestro, Allianz and Commerzbank gained 0.7 to 1.5%.

In the French market, Stellantis, Sanofi, Saint-Gobain, Edenred and STMicroElectronics lost 2 to 2.6%.

Essilor Luxottica, Eurofins Scientific, Societe Generale, Kering and Credit Agricole also ended notably lower.

Renault climbed about 1.7%. Orange, Dassault Systemes, Carrefour, Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal posted moderate gains.

German consumer confidence is set to improve slightly in October halting its downward trend as income expectations strengthened, a closely watched survey data showed.

The forward-looking consumer confidence index rose to -22.3 in October from revised -23.5 in the previous month. The reading was seen at -23.3.

France's consumer sentiment remained unchanged at a low level in September amid political uncertainty, monthly survey data from the statistical office INSEE showed.

The consumer confidence index held steady at 87 in September and also matched expectations.

The Distributive Trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed UK retailers expect sales to decline at a steeper pace in October, due to persistent weak demand conitions.

Further, the survey showed that October's sales are set to disappoint as the balance for next month declined to -43%.

CBI Principal Economist Martin Sartorius said, "Weak demand continues to weigh on sales, while US tariffs are adding pressure for some retailers."

"Lacklustre economic conditions are also affecting the wider distribution sector, with wholesalers and motor traders seeing fast sales declines in September," Sartorius added.

Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, ACEA, showed new car registrations in Europe saw an annual increase of 5.3% in August compared to a 7.4% rise in July. This was the second straight month of growth.

However, EU car registrations edged down 0.1% in the year-to-date period.

In U.S. economic news, data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell to 218,000 in the week ended September 20th, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 232,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000.

The Commerce Department also released separate reports showing an unexpected surge by durable goods orders in August as well as much stronger than previously estimated GDP growth in the second quarter.

On Friday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on personal income and spending in August, which includes the Fed's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.