Major European Markets Down In Negative Territory Around Noon

(RTTNews) - European stocks are down in negative territory around noon on Tuesday amid lingering concerns about global economic slowdown and uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

Markets are also weighed down by recent comments from ECB officials that the fight against inflation is not over yet. With several crucial economic data from the region and Europe due this week, investors appear a bit reluctant to make significant moves.

The pan European Stoxx 600 is down 0.57%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is lower by 0.38%, Germany's DAX is down 0.08% and France's CAC 40 is declining 0.55%, while Switzerland's SMI is down 0.72%.

On the economic front, a report from market research group Gfk showed the GfK Consumer Climate Indicator for Germany edged up to -27.8 heading into December 2023 from a downwardly revised -28.3 in November, compared with market forecasts of -27.9.

Still, consumer sentiment remains very weak characterized by uncertainty and concern, with no signs of a sustainable recovery in the coming months, the report says.

According to a report from INSEE, the consumer confidence in France rose to 87 in November, the highest reading since April last year, from 84 in the previous month.

A report from European Central Bank said lending to companies in the Euro area dropped by 0.3% year-on-year in October, marking the first decline since July 2015. Meanwhile, loans to households in the eurozone rose by 0.6% year-on-year in October, the slowest pace since June 2015.

The report from ECB also said M3 money supply in the Euro area dropped for the fourth consecutive month, falling by 1% year-on-year to EUR 16 trillion in October, after a 1.2% decrease in the prior month.

In the UK market, Entain is down more than 4%. Burberry Group, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Pearson, Royal Mail and ITV are down 2 to 3%.

RightMove, Rentokil Initial, Prudential, BT, Diageo, WPP, TUI, Croda International, Segro, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta are also notably lower.

Rolls-Royce Holdings is climbing 6.5%. Rolls-Royce has set out ambitious new profit targets and said it plans to sell it electric aircraft division, aiming to turn around the company.

Smurfit Kappa Group is surging nearly 4%, and Ds Smith gained 1.1%. EasyJet ended higher by 2%, lifted by strong earnings and guidance.

In the German market, Siemens Energy is down 2.6%. Bayer is down nearly 2%, while Porsche, Zalando, BASF, Vonovia, Volkswagen and Merck are lower by 1 to 1.5%.

RWE is surging 3%. Fresenius Medical Care and Infineon are gaining 1.2% and 1%, respectively. Fresenius, Hannover Rueck, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Post and E.On are up with modest gains.

In Paris, Pernod Ricard, Kering and LVMH are declining 2.5 to 3%. WorldLine, Alstom, Hermes International, Edenred and L'Oreal are down 1 to 2%.

TotalEnergies, Safran, Orange, Airbus Group, Engie, Air Liquide and Capgemini are gaining 0.5 to 1%.