European Stocks Close Lower Ahead Of Crucial Economic Data, Earnings Updates

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Tuesday, weighed down by data showing an unexpected drop in Germany's industrial output, and caution ahead of crucial U.S. inflation data, and big bank earnings.

Major U.S. banks JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup are due to report fourth quarter and full-year results on Friday.

Data from Destatis showed Germany's industrial production slid 0.7% on a monthly basis in November, following a revised 0.3% drop in October. Output was forecast to grow 0.2%.

On a yearly basis, the decline in industrial output deepened to 4.8% from 3.4% in October.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.19%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.13%, Germany's DAX declined 0.17% and France's CAC 40 shed 0.32%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.16%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Denmark, Greece and Poland ended higher, while Austria and Norway settled flat.

In the UK market, GSK gained nearly 2% after it struck a $1.4bn deal to acquire Anglo-American biotech Aiolos Bio.

Severn Trent, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Scottish Mortgage gained 1.6 to 2%. AstraZeneca, Smith & Nephew, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Centrica, Reckitt Benckiser and Airtel Africa advanced 1 to 1.3%.

Beazley, JD Sports Fashion Group, Ocado Group, RS Group, St. James's Plae, Kingfisher, WPP and Standard Chartered ended lower by 2 to 4.3%.

In the German market, Sartorius rallied 2.7%. E. ON, RWE, Symrise, Merck, MTU Aero Engines, Qiagen, HeidelbergCement and Bayer gained 1 to 2%.

BASF drifted down 2.6%. Infineon, Munich RE, Daimler Truck Holding, Continental, Covestro and Puma lost 1 to 1.7%.

In Paris, Alstom climbed 5.4% after signing a €500 million contract with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) in Saudi Arabia to develop a tramway system.

WorldLine gained nearly 2% and Sanofi ended 1.2% up. Vinci, Engie, Eurofins Scientific and Saint Gobain ended higher by 0.7 to 1%.

ArcelorMittal ended down 2.5%. Michelin, Teleperformance, Legrand, LVMH, Orange, STMicroElectronics, Capgemini and Renault lost 1 to 2%.

Data released by customs office showed France's trade deficit decreased in November due to a sharp fall in imports. The trade deficit narrowed more-than-expected to EUR 5.9 billion in November from EUR 8.5 billion in October. The shortfall was forecast to fall moderately to EUR 7.9 billion.

Exports posted a monthly decrease of 0.6%. At the same time, imports declined more sharply by 4.8%. On a yearly basis, exports and imports fell 5.1% and 14.1%, respectively.

The euro area unemployment rate dropped to a record low in November despite fears of recession, data from Eurostat revealed. The jobless rate fell marginally to 6.4% from 6.5% in October. In the same period last year, the unemployment rate was 6.7%. The unemployment rate was forecast to remain unchanged at 6.5%.

UK retail sales growth weakened in December despite the festive season, data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed.

Retail sales grew only 1.7% on a yearly basis in December, which was slower than the 6.9% expansion posted in the same period last year, the data showed.