European Stocks Close Weak On Geopolitical Concerns, Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed weak on Tuesday amid an escalation in Russia - Ukraine war and concerns about the outlook for global economic growth rendered the mood bearish.

Investors moved away from riskier assets after Russian President Vladimir Putin updated nuclear doctrine. Kremlin has warned that it would consider a nuclear strike if it was subject to a conventional missile assault supported by a nuclear power.

Investors also digested the latest batch of regional economic data, including the reports on euro area inflation, eurozone current account data, and Swiss trade data.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.45%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.13%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both closed down 0.67%, and Switzerland's SMI ended with a loss of 0.84%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate losses.

Denmark and Iceland ended higher, while Norway closed flat.

In the UK market, Diploma tumbled 8% on weak earnings and disappointing revenue guidance.

Melrose Industries, Prudential, Rolls-Royce Holdings, IAG, Weir Group, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Hiscox, Informa, Whitbread, Admiral Group, BP, Ashtead Group, Associated British Foods, Glencore and Legal & General lost 1 to 3%.

Mulberry Group shares declined sharply, weighed down by wider first-half loss.

Imperial Brands moved higher on stronger than expected operating profit in the latest quarter. The company said its expects another strong performance next year.

BT Group and British Land posted strong gains. Land Securities, Airtel Africa, Vistry Group, Persimmon, Croda International, DCC, Sainsbury (J), Convatec Group, BAE Systems, National Grid, Marks & Spencer, Beazley, AstraZeneca, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Berkeley Group Holdings advanced 1 to 2%.

In the German market, Siemens closed more than 3% down. Continental, Porsche, Puma, Infineon, Brenntag, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, RWE, Beiersdorf, Daimler Truck Holding, Allianz and Deutsche Post lost 1 to 2.2%.

Rheinmetall rallied nearly 4%. Vonovia, Symrise, E.ON, and SAP gained 0.6 to 1%.

In the French market, Kering, Vivendi, Stellantis, LVMH, Accor, BNP Paribas, STMicroElectronics, Bouygues, Legrand, Saint Gobain, Societe Generale, Hermes International and Veolia closed lower by 1 to 2.3%.

Essilor and Thales both gained about 1.75%. Unibail Rodamco, Dassault Systemes, Capgemini, Edenred and Orange also closed higher.

On the economic front, final data from Eurostat showed the consumer price index in the Euro Area increased 0.3% month-over-month in October, the most in six months, following a 0.1% decline in September. Annual inflation accelerated to 2% in October, up from 1.7% in September.

Core consumer prices in the Euro Area increased 2.7% in October over the same month in the previous year, the data said.

The euro area current account surplus increased in September on a rebound in primary income, data from the European Central Bank showed. The current account surplus totaled EUR 37 billion in September, up from EUR 35 billion in the previous month. The surplus was forecast to fall to EUR 27.0 billion.

Switzerland's foreign trade surplus decreased somewhat in October amid a surge in exports, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed.

The trade surplus rose to CHF 5.97 billion in October from CHF 4.03 billion in September.

In real terms, exports jumped 11.2% over the month, reversing a 2.3% decrease in September. Imports increased at a stable rate of 0.7%. In nominal terms, both exports and imports grew by 10.2% and 1.8%, respectively.