Major European Markets Close Lower For 3rd Straight Session

(RTTNews) - The major European markets closed lower on Tuesday, losing ground for a third straight session, as concerns over monetary tightening by central banks and fears about economies falling into a recession continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Oil and gas stocks moved higher, but the major markets still ended weak with investors digesting the latest batch of economic data from the region and looking ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on inflation and the rate outlook at the upcoming annual Jackson Hole economic symposium later this week.

The Euro fell to a fresh 20-year low and analysts warn it could drop even further in the near term.

The composite purchasing managers indexes for Germany and France hit a 26-month low and 18-month low, respectively.

The U.K. composite flash estimate dropped to an 18-monht low of 50.9 in August from 52.1 in July.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.42% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.61%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.27% and 0.26%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI tumbled 1.38%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Spain and Sweden ended weak.

Austria, Finland, Norway, Poland, Russia and Turkiye closed higher, while Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands and Portugal settled flat.

In the UK market, Ocado Group, Informa, Smiths Group, Sage Group, Relx, B&M European Value Retail, Airtel Africa, Halma, National Grid, British American Tobacco, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Reckitt Benckiser, Croda International, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca lost 2 to 5%.

Antofagasta, Shell and Anglo American Plc gained 3 to 3.3%. Glencore climbed 2.8%, while BP, Rio Tinto, Haleon, Endeavour Mining, Flutter Entertainment, Prudential and DCC gained 1 to 2.3%.

In Paris, Dassault Systemes, L'Oreal, Pernod Ricard, Sodexo, Unibail Rodamco, Teleperformance and Sanofi shed 1.4 to 2.5%.

ArcelorMittal rallied more than 3%. Valeo and Atos gained 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.

In the German market, Sartorius shed more than 2.5%. Puma, Symrise, Deutsche Post, Qiagen, SAP and HelloFresh also ended notably lower.

Porsche Automobil, Covestro, Volkswagen, BASF and Daimler advanced 1.4 to 2.3%.

On the economic front, Eurozone private sector contracted for the second straight month in August as the downturn in manufacturing continued and the service sector ground to a near-halt, flash survey results from S&P Global showed.

The flash composite output index slid to 49.2 in August from 49.9 in July. However, the reading was slightly above the expected level of 49.0.

At 49.7, the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at a 26-month low compared to 49.8 in July. Nonetheless, the score was above economists' forecast of 49.0.

The services PMI fell to a 17-month low of 50.2 from 51.2 in the previous month. The expected reading was 50.5.

Among the biggest two economies, Germany logged the sharpest decline in output since June 2020 as manufacturing output continued its downward trend amid an accelerated contraction in services activity.

The composite output index dropped further into sub-50 contraction territory in August, down from 48.1 in July to 47.6. The expected score was 47.4.

The services PMI came in at an 18-month low of 48.2 versus 49.7 in July and economists' forecast of 49.0. Meanwhile, the factory PMI unexpectedly rose to 49.8 from 49.3. The reading was seen at 48.2.

Elsewhere, activity in France decreased for the first time in a year-and-a-half, reflective of a sharp drop in manufacturing output and softer growth of services activity.

At 49.8, France's flash composite output index was down from 51.7 in July and signaled the first reduction in private sector output levels across France since February 2021. The reading was forecast to drop to 50.8.

The services PMI slid to a 16-month low of 51.0 from 53.2 in July. The score was forecast to ease marginally to 53.0. At the same time, the manufacturing PMI came in at 49.0, in line with expectations. The score declined from 49.5 in July and hit the lowest in 27 months.

Eurozone's consumer confidence unexpectedly recovered in August from July's record low, preliminary survey data from the European Commission showed.

The flash consumer confidence index rose to -24.9 from -27.0 in July. Economists had expected the reading to worsen to -28.0.