Major European Markets Close Lower On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Tuesday weighed down by concerns about growth after data showed a contraction in eurozone manufacturing activity, and U.S. debt ceiling worries and signs of increasing Sino-U.S. tensions.

The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 0.6%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.1%, Germany's DAX dropped 0.44% and France's CAC fell 1.33%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 0.59% down.

Other markets in Europe closed on mixed note. Denmark, Iceland, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate losses. Austria, Belgium and Netherlands declined marginally.

Greece, Norway, Portugal and Russia closed higher, while Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland and Turkiye ended flat.

In the UK market, TUI climbed nearly 3.5%. Vodafone gained nearly 3%. British Land Company, Carnival, Kingfisher, British American Tobacco, Barclays and Smurfit Kappa Group gained 2 to 2.5%.

Standard Chartered, BP, Aviva, Imperial Brands, Hargreaves Lansdown, Royal Dutch Shell and Lloyds Banking also closed notably higher.

Burberry Group, Polymetal International, Halma, JD Sports Fashion, Pennon, Antofagasta, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Auto Trader Group and Flutter Entertainment lost 2 to 3.1%.

In the German market, Vonovia surged more than 5.5%. Qiagen, Hannover Rueck and Deutsche Bank gained 2.2%, 1.1% and 1%, respectively. Munich RE gained nearly 1%.

Zalando ended 2.6% down, and MTU Aero Engines declined 2.4%. Adidas, Siemens, SAP, HeidelbergCement, Siemens Healthineers and Beiersdorf lost 1 to 2%.

In Paris, Societe Generale shares rallied nearly 4% after the lender confirmed the launch of a global employee share ownership program.

Unibail Rodamco gained about 3%. TotalEnergies and Eurofins Scientific ended higher by about 2% and 1.7%, respectively.

Hermes International tumbled 6.5%. LVMH ended 5% down, while Thales and Vivendi ended lower by 4% and 3.6%, respectively. Kering, Safran, Alstom and Essilor also declined sharply.

In the Swiss market, Julius Baer plunged 7.4% after its quarterly results came in below estimates. Richemont, Sonova and Holcim also ended sharply lower.

On the economic front, Euro area private sector expanded for the fifth straight month in May but the pace of growth moderated due to a steep decline in the factory output amid a widening divergence in demand growth for goods and services, flash results of the purchasing managers' survey by S&P Global showed on Tuesday.

The flash HCOB composite output index fell to a three-month low of 53.3 in May from 54.1 in April. The score was forecast to drop moderately to 53.7. Despite the decline, the private sector posted a robust expansion, which was the third strongest seen over the past year.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, fell to 44.6 in May from 45.8 in the previous month, while the score was forecast to improve to 46.2. The services PMI registered 55.9 in May compared to 56.2 a month ago. The reading was above the expected score of 55.6.

The euro area current account surplus rose to the highest level in nearly two years in March on trade surplus, the European Central Bank reported.

The current account posted EUR 31 billion surplus in March compared to a EUR 24 billion in February. This was the highest since April 2021.

The UK private sector continued to expand strongly in May, though the pace of growth eased from April's one-year high as the downturn in the manufacturing sector deepened, flash survey results from S&P Global showed.

The flash Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply composite output index dropped to a two-month low of 53.9 in May from 54.9 in April. The expected score was 54.6.

The UK budget deficit increased more than expected in April on the additional costs of the energy support schemes, inflation-driven debt costs and increases in benefit payments.

Public sector net borrowing excluding banks increased GBP 11.9 billion from the previous year to GBP 25.6 billion in April, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. This was the second-highest April borrowing since monthly records began in 1993 and far exceeded economists' forecast of GBP 18.7 billion.