European Stocks Close Broadly Lower Amid Growth Concerns

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Tuesday amid concerns about global economic slowdown, and continued uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

Investors looked ahead to speeches from several central bank officials including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, this week.

Powell is due to deliver opening remarks at the Division of Research and Statistics Centennial Conference on Wednesday and participate in a policy panel discussion before the 24th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference on Thursday.

Traders are likely to pay close attention to Powell's remarks, looking for additional confirmation the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged for the foreseeable future.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.16%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.1% and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.39%. Germany's DAX crept up 0.11%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 0.05% down.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Denmark, Iceland and Russia ended higher, while Netherlands and Spain closed flat.

In the UK market, Anglo American and Antofagasta ended down 3.7% and 3.2%, respectively. Glencore, BP, Centrica, Rio Tinto, Royal Dutch Shell, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Standard Chartered lost 1.6 to 2.2%.

Associated British Foods rallied more than 7% after reporting a 5% increase in annual profit and declaring a special dividend. Persimmon climbed 6% after raising its guidance for new home completions.

Barratt Developments, Natwest Group, Croda International, The Sage Group, Segro, Just Eat Takeaway.com, CRH, Taylor Wimpey, Experian, JD Sports Fashiion, Next, Carnival and Easyjet gained 1.5 to 3%.

In the German market, Daimler Truck Holding ended more than 4% down. Fresenius Medical Care, BMW, Continental, Deutsche Bank, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Allianz and Porsche lost 0.7 to 1.7%.

Deutsche Boerse surged nearly 4%. Vonovia and SAP gained 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively. Puma, Zalando, Infineon, Merck and Qiagen advanced 1 to 1.6%.

In Paris, Edenred declined more than 4%. Renault ended lower by about 3.4%, while Unibail Rodamco, TotalEnergies, Alstom, Stellantis, AXA, ArcelorMittal, BNP Paribas and WorldLine lost 1 to 2%.

Teleperformance climbed 3.5%. Capgemini surged 2.7%, while Carrefour and Engie gained 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively. Engie gained after raising its full-year outlook. The company reporting earnings before interest and taxes of 8.322 billion euros for the 9-month period, up 14.7% from 7.254 billion euros in the same period a year ago.

In the Swiss market, UBS Group gained nearly 2% after reporting stronger-than-expected client inflows and progress in meeting cost-saving goal.

Shares of Watches of Switzerland Group soared 12.5% after the luxury watch retailer reported higher revenues in its second quarter and said it expects to more than double sales and profits by fiscal 2028.

Data from Destatis showed German industrial output registered a monthly fall of 1.4% in September, faster than the revised 0.1% drop in August. This was the fourth consecutive decline.

On a yearly basis, industrial production registered a 3.7% fall in September.

Survey results from S&P Global showed Germany's construction sector contracted the most in three-and-a-half years in October with steep declines in demand and employment. The HCOB construction Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 38.3 in October from 39.3 in September.

Data from Eurostat showed eurozone producer prices continued to decline in September on continuing downward trend in energy prices. Producer prices posted an annual fall of 12.4% in September, following an 11.5% decrease in August.

A survey by the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax and S&P Global showed U.K. house prices rose in October, after falling for six months in a row, with the house price index rising by 1.1%, after declining by 0.3% in September. Economists had expected a 0.2% gain.