Major European Markets Close Weak On Inflation Worries, Caution Ahead Of Policy Meetings

(RTTNews) - The major European markets failed to hold early gains and closed lower on Friday, weighed down by concerns about inflation, and caution ahead of monetary policy announcements by the Federal Reserve and Bank of England.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.32%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.15% and Germany's DAX edged down 0.03%. France's CAC 40 crept up 0.04%, while Switzerland's SMI ended down by 0.38%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland and Turkiye closed weak.

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

After recent data on consumer price and producer price inflation in the U.S., the CMW FedWatch Tool says the probability of the Fed leaving the policy rate unchanged at June meeting climbed from 25% to 40%.

In European economic news today, the INSEE said the French consumer price inflation eased slightly less than initial estimated in February, softening marginally to 3% from 3.1% in the prior month. Inflation was 2.9% according to initial estimate.

Meanwhile, EU-harmonized inflation slowed to 3.2% in February from 3.4% in January.

In the UK market, Reckitt Benckiser tanked nearly 16% before recovering some lost ground. The stock fell to its lowest level in about a decade after an Illinois jury ordered the company's unit Mead Johnson to pay $60 million to the mother of a premature baby who died of an intestinal disease after being fed Enfamil. The company said today that it would pursue all options to have the verdict overturned.

Intertek, GlaxoSmithKline, Smith & Nephew, Halma, The Sage Group and British American Tobacco also ended notably lower.

Vodafone gained more than 5% after the telecom major announced a binding agreement to sell Vodafone Italy to telecom service provider Swisscom AG for an enterprise value of 8 billion euros.

Scottish Mortgage, Endeavour Mining, Admiral Group, Smurfit Kappa Group, Antofagasta, Barclays Group, Associated British Foods and Centrica posted sharp gains.

In the German market, Vonovia tanked more than 10% after the real estate service firm reported its biggest loss ever for 2023.

Infineon lost about 6% and Fresenius Medical Care declined nearly 4%. SAP, Merck, Siemens Healthineers and Beiersdorf also ended notably lower.

Daimler Truck Holding, Hannover Rueck, Commerzbank, Zalando, RWE, Porsche, Deutsche Post, BASF and Mercedes-Benz gained 1 to 2.3%.

In the French market, STMicroElectronics, Unibail Rodamco, L'Oreal, ArcelorMittal and LVMH ended with sharp to moderate losses.

WorldLine gained nearly 4%. Stellantis, BNP Paribas, Alstom, Airbus Group, Michelin, Societe Generale, Orange, Renault, Saint-Gobain, AXA, Safran and Teleperformance gained 1 to 3%.