European Stocks Close Lower After Cautious Session

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Tuesday after a cautious session as investors awaited some crucial economic data and the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimonies later this week.

Modest cuts in China's loan prime rates failed to inspire investors. In addition to digesting a slew of economic data from the region, investors looked ahead to the Bank of England's interest rate decision, due on Thursday.

The BoE is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point to a 15-year high of 4.75%, marking its 13th straight rate rise.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.59%. Germany's DAX shed 0.55%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 shed 0.25% and 0.27%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI drifted down 0.8%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Denmark, Iceland and Norway ended higher, while Portugal and Spain settled flat.

In the UK market, Just Eat Takeaway.com ended more than 5% down. Anglo American Plc, Carnival, Natwest Group, Prudential, Antofagasta and TUI lost 2 to 4%.

Glencore, ICP, Vodafone, RightMove, Burberry, BP, Melrose Industries, Rio Tinto and Fresnillo also declined sharply.

Rolls-Royce Holdings rallied more than 2%. Royal Mail, Centrica, Flutter Entertainment and Johnson Matthey gained 1 to 1.6%.

In the German market, Continental and BASF both ended lower by about 3.2%. Siemens Healthineers shed 2.5%, while Infineon, Zalando, Adidas, Daimler Truck Holding, Volkswagen, Bayer, Porsche and Siemens lost 1 to 2%.

Shares of specialty chemicals firm Lanxess plunged nearly 16% after the company cut its second-quarter and full-year 2023 adjusted EBITDA guidance, citing weak demand.

In the French market, Renault declined 3.7%. Legrand, Stellantis, ArcelorMittal, Saint Gobain, Michelin, Unibail Rodamco, Publicis Groupe, TotalEnergies and Essilor lost 1 to 2.3%.

Sanofi climbed 3.7% after the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in the company's favour in an arbitration case over claims by Boehringer Ingelheim in cancer lawsuits linked to heartburn drug Zantac in the United States.

Thales, Vinci, Engie, Carrefour and Veolia posted moderate gains.

On the economic front, preliminary data from Destatis showed Germany's producer price inflation eased for the eighth straight month in May to reach its lowest level in more than two years amid a fall in energy prices.

The producer price index, or PPI, climbed 1% year-over-year in May, slower than the 4.1% rise in April. Economists had forecast price growth to ease to 1.7%.

Further, the latest inflation rate was the weakest since January 2021, when prices had risen 0.9%.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone construction output declined for the second straight month in April, falling by 0.4% month-on-month, following a 1.7% fall in March.

On a yearly basis, total construction output rebounded 0.2% in April, after a 0.7% fall a month ago.

The euro area current account surplus plunged from a near two-year high largely due to the fall in visible trade surplus in April, the European Central Bank reported Tuesday.

The current account surplus declined sharply to EUR 4 billion in April from EUR 31 billion in the previous month, which was the highest since April 2021.

Switzerland's foreign trade surplus rose to CHF 4.3 billion in May from CHF 2.2 billion in the previous month, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed on Tuesday.

In real terms, exports advanced 4.5% month-on-month in May, reversing a 5.9% decline in April. Imports showed a slight decrease of 0.1% versus a 3.2% fall in the previous month.