European Stocks Close Lower On Geopolitical Tensions, Interest Rate Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Friday, weighed down by persisting tensions in the Middle East, and continued uncertainty about Fed interest rates after hawkish comments from some Fed officials and data showing stronger than expected growth in U.S. non-farm payroll employment in the month of March.

Investors also digested a slew of economic data from the European region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.84%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down by 0.81%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 lost 1.24% and 1.11%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI ended 1.67% down.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate losses. Austria and Finland edged down marginally. Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and Turkiye closed higher, while Poland ended flat.

In the UK market, Ocado Group tanked nearly 9%. St. James's Place, JD Sports Fashion, National Grid, DCC, Scottish Mortgage, Kingfisher, Schrodders, Associated British Foods, Croda International, IMI, Rio Tinto, Severn Trent, WPP, Airtel Africa, Vodafone Group and Centrica lost 2 to 4.3%.

Flutter Entertainment, BAE Systems, Smith & Nephew, Admiral Group, Royal Dutch Shell, Fresnillo and Rolls-Royce Holdings finished with moderate gains.

In the German market, Zalando ended more than 5% down. Bayer drifted down nearly 4%. Munich RE, Siemens Energy, Vonovia, Sartorius, Merck, Deutsche Post, Siemens, BASF, BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen lost 1.7 to 3%.

In Paris, Eurofins Scientific ended lower by 4.75%. Veolia, Bouygues, WorldLine, Pernod Ricard, LVMH, STMicroElectronics and AXA lost 2 to 3.4%. Kering, Hermes International, Alstom, ArcelorMittal, Sanofi and Saint Gobain also ended notably lower.

Teleperformance gained nearly 2.5%. Dassault Systemes, Capgemini, Carrefour and Thales posted moderate gains.

The U.S. Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment spiked by 303,000 jobs in March after surging by a downwardly revised 270,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 275,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8% in March from 3.9% in February, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in unchanged.

In European economic news, data from Eurostat showed Eurozone retail sales registered a monthly decline of 0.5% in February after remaining flat in the previous month. Economists had forecast a 0.4% decline.

A report from Destatis showed Germany's import prices dropped 4.9% year-over-year in February, though slower than the 5.9% decline in January. The expected decrease was 4.6%.

A separate data from Destatis said Germany's factory orders expanded by 0.2% in February , in contrast to the sharp 11.4% decline in January. However, the rebound was weaker than economists' forecast of 0.8% growth.

Germany's construction sector continued to deteriorate sharply at the end of the first quarter as constructors expressed a gloomy outlook amid subdued demand caused by high interest rates and economic uncertainty, survey results from S&P Global showed. The construction purchasing managers' index dropped to 38.3 in March from 39.1 in February.

France's industrial production expanded by a less-than-expected 0.2% in February after falling 0.9% in the previous month, data from the statistical office INSEE showed. The expected growth rate was 0.5%.

Similarly, manufacturing output advanced 0.9% in February, in contrast to a 1.5% fall in the prior month.

UK house prices dropped by 1% in March, declined for the first time in six months, data published by the mortgage lender Halifax showed. Prices were expected to climb 0.3%.

The British construction activity signalled a renewed expansion in March amid a turnaround in sales pipelines and greater new business enquiries, survey results from S&P Global showed. The Construction Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, rose to 50.2 in March from 49.7 in January. The score was expected to increase to 49.8.