Major European Markets Close Slightly Weak

(RTTNews) - Major European markets closed on a slightly weak note on Wednesday amid concerns about economic slowdown and prospects of further interest rate hikes by central banks.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.19%. Germany's DAX drifted down 0.2%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 edged down 0.05% and 0.09%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI ended lower by 1.05%.

Other markets in Europe ended mixed. Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Poland and Portugal ended weak.

Austria, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher, while Finland and Netherlands ended flat.

In the UK market, Admiral Group ended nearly 3% down. Segro, Entain, Croda International, Persimmon, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Barratt Developments, Centrica, National Grid and BAE Systems lost 1 to 2.5%.

BT rallied 3.75%. Melrose Industries, Associated British Foods, Ashtead, TUI, Carnival and Vodafone gained 2 to 3.1%.

Smiths, Glencore, BHP, Informa and Next also ended notably higher.

In the German market, Hannover Rueck and Symrise both ended nearly 3% down. Zalando, Munich RE, Qiagen, Siemens Healthineers and Deutsche Telekom declined 1.2 to 2%.

Puma, Infineon and Commerzbank gained 2 to 2.6%. Fresenius Medical Care, E.ON, Daimler Truck Holding, Vonovia and Continental advanced 1 to 1.8%.

In Paris, Renault ended lower by about 2.5%. Thales eased by 2.1%. Hermes International, Danone, Sanofi, Safran and Carrefour lost 1 to 1.6%.

Unibail Rodamco and STMicroElectronics climbed 2.8% and 2.7%, respectively. Capgemini and Teleperformance both gained nearly 2%. Saint Gobain and Stellantis also ended notably higher.

In economic news, data from Destatis showed German industrial output rose 0.3% in April, in contrast to the 2.1% decrease in March, but the growth rate was well below the expected 0.6 percent.

France's foreign trade deficit increased at the start of the second quarter as exports fell amid a rise in imports, data from the customs office revealed. The trade deficit rose to EUR 9.71 billion in April from EUR 8.39 billion in March while the expected shortfall was EUR 7.7 billion.

UK house prices were unchanged in May after a slight upturn in the first quarter as higher interest rates started to squeeze household budgets, results of a survey by Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax showed. House prices were stable on a monthly basis in May following a 0.4% fall in April, the survey revealed. That was in line with economists' expectations.

Switzerland's unemployment rate decreased in May to the lowest level in seven months, in line with expectations, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said.

The unadjusted unemployment rate dropped to 1.9% in May from a stable rate of 2% in April. In the corresponding month last year, the jobless rate was 2.1%.