European Stocks Closed On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday after another cautious session, as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Symposium that gets underway on Thursday, and continued to focus on the developments on the trade and geopolitical front.

The focus is on the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, that gets underway on Thursday. Investors are awaiting speeches from severa central bank chiefs, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.23%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 1.08%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed down by 0.6% and 0.08%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI ended 0.52% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Turkiye closed higher.

Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Russia and Sweden ended weak.

Austria, Finland, Greece and Spain settled flat.

In the UK market, Convatec Group climbed 5.62% on strong buying on news of a $300 million share repurchase plan.

United Utilities, Unilever, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Imperial Brands, British American Tobacco, Severn Trent, Relx, Haleon, Endeavour Mining and Reckitt Benckiser gained 2.4% to 3.5%.

Polar Capital Technology Trust and Rolls-Royce Holdings closed down by 3.25% and 3.1%, respectively. EasyJet, ICG, Scottish Mortgage and IAG lost 1.5 to 2%.

In the German market, Deutsche Boerse, Symrise and Henkel gained 1.6 to 2%. Munich RE, BASF, Fresenius, Siemens Healthineers and Deutsche Telekom also closed notably higher.

Siemens Energy closed nearly 3% down. Siemens, Heidelberg Materials, MTU Aero Engines, Infineon, Porsche, Brenntag, SAP, Deutsche Post and Daimler Truck Holding lost 1 to 2%.

In the French market, Danone rallied more than 3%. Kering, Pernod Ricard, L'Oreal, Engie, Eurofins Scientific, EssilorLuxottica, Dassault Systemes and Carrefour gained 1 to 2.5%.

Schneider Electric and Saint Gobain ended lower by about 3.4% and 3.1%, respectively. Airbus, Legrand, ArcelorMittal, Accor, Stellantis and Societe Generale also closed notably lower.

In economic news, UK consumer price inflation accelerated to an 18-month high in July on airfares and food prices, suggesting that the Bank of England is likely to delay further easing.

The consumer price index posted an annual growth of 3.8% after rising 3.6% in June, the Office for National Statistics reported Wednesday.

Inflation continued to remain stubbornly above the 2% target and hit the highest since January 2024, when the rate was 4%. Prices were forecast to climb 3.7% in July.

Core inflation that excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose to 3.8% from 3.7% in June.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose only 0.1%, following June's 0.3% gain.

Data from Destatis showed Germany's producer prices declined for the fifth straight month in July, falling by 1.5% year-on-year, faster than the 1.3% drop in June.

Energy prices alone logged an annual decline of 6.8% in July. Intermediate goods were also less expensive, down 0.9% from the previous year.

On the other hand, consumer goods were 3.5% more expensive. Prices for capital and durable goods climbed 1.8% and 1.9%, respectively.

Excluding energy prices, producer prices were 1% higher than in the same period last year.

Month-on-month, producer prices dropped 0.1% in July.

Data from Eurostat showed that the annual core inflation rate in the Eurozone which excludes prices for energy, food, alcohol & tobacco, steadied at 2.3% in July, the same as in each of the previous two months.

The headline annual inflation rate in the Eurozone was unchanged from the prior month at 2% in July. This marks the second consecutive month that inflation has aligned with the European Central Bank's official target.