European Markets Finished Mostly Lower On Weak Economic Data

(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Tuesday's session in negative territory. The pull back was partly attributed to profit taking, following yesterday's rally. The markets were mixed in early trade, after German investor sentiment came in below expectations and Eurozone employment growth slowed in the fourth quarter. The markets weakened further after the much weaker than expected U.S. housing starts report.

Investors also decided to exercise caution ahead of the 2-day Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, which begins today. The Fed is predicted to remove the word "patient" from its monetary policy statement without any strong signal on the timing of an interest rate rise. Many economists foresee no rate hike before September as there are still signs of weakness in the world's largest economy.

New passenger car registrations in the European Union increased for the eighteenth successive month in February and at the fastest pace in nearly a year, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or ACEA said Tuesday.

New car registrations in the euro area excluding Malta grew 7.3 percent year-over-year to 924,440 units in February. In January, sales had risen 6.7 percent. The latest rate of growth was the strongest since March 2014, when registrations climbed 10.6 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased by 0.96 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.34 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped by 1.54 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell by 0.64 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 0.49 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.42 percent.

In Frankfurt, Linde dipped by 0.26 percent. Citigroup downgraded its rating on the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy."

Daimler sank by 4.19 percent and BMW lost 1.43 percent. Volkswagen also finished down by 1.18 percent.

Commerzbank decreased by 1.88 percent and Deutsche Bank fell by 1.50 percent.

In Paris, Orange dropped by 2.28 percent. The telecom firm announced new strategic plan today.

Peugeot sank by 5.94 percent, after its February vehicle sales came in weaker than expected. Renault also declined by 3.48 percent.

In London, supermarket chain J. Sainsbury decreased by 0.82 percent. The company issued its quarterly trading statement today.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets finished lower by 2.19 percent and Tesco lost 1.74 percent.

BHP Billiton climbed by 3.32 percent. The company's Board recommended that its shareholders vote to spin off a new company, which will be called South32.

Antofagasta fell by 2.83 percent, after the Chile-focused miner said its production forecast this year remains uncertain due to issues at a major mine.

Eurozone employment grew at a slower pace at the end of 2014, data published by Eurostat showed Tuesday. Employment rose 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter from a quarter ago, which slower than the 0.2 percent rise in the third quarter and 0.3 percent in the second quarter.

Eurozone consumer prices remained negative for the third month in February as initially estimated, final report from Eurostat showed Tuesday. The harmonized index of consumer prices fell 0.3 percent in February from last year, slower than January's 0.6 percent decline. The annual decrease came in line with the flash estimate published on March 2.

German investor sentiment strengthened for the fifth consecutive month in March to its highest level in a year, a closely watched survey revealed Tuesday. Nonetheless, the improvement was weaker than expected, suggesting that concerns over the Greek crisis impacted optimism.

The economic sentiment indicator climbed to 54.8 from 53 in February, survey data from the Centre for European Economic Research, or ZEW, showed Tuesday. It was the highest value of the index since February 2014. Economists had expected a higher score of 59.4.

The leading economic index in the UK, which measures the future economic activity, increased at the start of the year, figures from the Conference Board showed Monday. The Conference Board leading economic index rose 0.2 percent in January, after staying flat in the previous month. In November, the index had dropped 0.4 percent.

New residential construction in the U.S. showed a substantial decrease in the month of February, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, with housing starts falling to their lowest level in over a year.

The report said housing starts plummeted by 17.0 percent to an annual rate of 897,000 in February from the revised January estimate of 1.081 million. Economists had been expecting housing starts to dip to 1.048 million from the 1.065 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said building permits climbed 3.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.092 million in February from the revised January rate of 1.060 million. Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to inch up to 1.058 million from the 1.053 million originally reported for January.