European Stocks Close Weak As U.S. Fiscal Deficit Fuels Growth Concerns

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Thursday as rising concerns over U.S. fiscal outlook and a lack of clarity on tariff negotiations rendered the mood cautious, prompting investors to lighten commitments.

The U.S. tax cut bill was passed in the House in a largely party-line vote early this morning, but it is feared that the mega-bill pairing tax relief with spending cuts could add trillions to the federal government's already massive debt and further slow U.S. economic growth.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.64%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 lost between 0.5 to 0.6%, while Switzerland's SMI closed down 0.89%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended weak.

Portugal and Turkiye closed notably higher, while Iceland ended marginally up.

In the UK market, British Land Company, a real estate investment and development company, closed 5.5% down, after saying it expects earnings to be flat next year.

Airline EasyJet ended 2.7% down. The company reported wider loss for the first-half of its current financial year. In the first half, loss before tax widened to 401 million pounds from last year's loss of 347 million pounds. Basic loss per share was 39.5 pence, compared to loss of 34.3 pence a year ago.

Johnson Matthey soared more than 30% after the industrial group confirmed that it is in advanced discussions over a potential sale of a unit involved in the production of sustainable aviation fuel.

JD Sports Fashion, Convatec Group, Marks & Spencer, BAE Systems, Endavour Mining and Rolls-Royce Holdings closed higher.

DCC, Intermediate Capital Group, Persimmon, Intertek Group, Experian, Barratt Redrow, Melrose Industries and Weir Group ended on a weak note.

In the German market, Porsche, Merck, Puma, Heidelberg Materials, Sartorius and Brenntag lost 2 to 4.3%. RWE, Henkel, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, BASF, Mercedes-Benz and Rheinmetall also closed notably lower.

Siemens Energy and Bayer gained about 3.2% and 2.7%, respectively. Commerzbank climbed 1.3%.

In the French market, ArcelorMittal, Stellantis, Renault, Hermes International, STMicroElectronics, Saint Gobain, LVMH, TotalEnergies and Capgemini closed down 1.6 to 4%.

Thales gained about 1.7%. Essilor, Schneider Electric, Orange, Engie, Safran and Bouygues posted moderate gains.

Survey data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's manufacturing confidence weakened in May on deteriorating global orders and personal production expectations.

The manufacturing sentiment index dropped to 97 in May from 100 in April. The score was forecast to improve to 99.

The personal production outlook plunged to -1 from +12 in April. Meanwhile, general production outlook rose moderately to -13 from -15.

The survey showed that economic uncertainty felt by business leaders increased again. The indicator posted 32, up from 29 in the prior month.

The overall business confidence index, which comprises the responses of business leaders from sectors such as manufacturing, construction, services, retail trade, and wholesale trade, dropped in May. The index fell marginally to 96 from 97 in April.

A closely watched survey showed that Germany's business climate index rose to 87.5 in May from 86.9 in the previous month. The score was forecast to rise to 87.4.

The current situation index dropped to 86.1 from 86.4 in April, while it was forecast to rise to 86.8. By contrast, the expectations index advanced more-than-expected to 88.9 in May from 87.4 in the prior month. The reading was seen at 88.0.

Data from S&P Global said the HCOB composite PMI for Germany fell to a five-month low of 48.6 in May from 50.1 in April. The reading indicated that the private sector returned to contraction, following modest expansions over the previous four months.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index hit a 30-month low of 47.2 in May, down from 49.0 in the previous month. At 48.8, the manufacturing PMI reached a 33-month high and up from 48.4 a month ago.

Flash data showed the Eurozone HCOB Composite PMI dropped to 49.5 in May, from 50.4 in April. The Manufacturing PMI improved to 49.4 from 49.0, while the Services PMI dropped to 48.9 from 50.1.

The HCOB Composite PMI for France came in at 48.0 for May, up from 47.8 in April, flash data showed. The Manufacturing PMI came in at 49.7, compared to 48.7 a month earlier, while the Services PMI came in with a score of 47.4, compared to 47.3 in April.

S&P Global said the Global UK Composite PMI rose to 49.4 in May of 2025 from 48.5 in April, according to a flash estimate. Activity declined manufacturing sector with the index coming in a 45.1 for May, compared to 45.4 in April, reflecting the sharpest drop in 19 months. The Services PMI reading was 50.2 for May according to flash estimate, up from 49.0 in April.

UK public sector net borrowing in April was the highest in any month since April 2021, the Office for National Statistics said. Public sector net borrowing rose by GBP 1.0 billion to GBP 20.2 billion in April. This was the highest borrowing since April 2021 and was also above economists' forecast of GBP 18.0 billion.

It is also the fourth-highest April borrowing since monthly records began in 1993, behind April 2020 and 2021 borrowing, the ONS said.

In the financial year ending March, PSNB totaled GBP 148.3 billion. While this was GBP 3.7 billion lower than the initial estimate published in April 2025, it was above the GBP 137.3 billion forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility.