European Stocks Close On Mixed Note
(RTTNews) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday with investors largely making cautious moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy announcement. Geopolitical tensions and worries about outlook for growth due to U.S. tariffs and threats of more levies weighed on sentiment.
The pan European Stoxx 600 closed 0.19% up. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.02% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.7%. Germany's DAX ended down 0.4%, while Switzerland's SMI ended lower by 0.16%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.
Netherlands, Norway and Spain ended higher, while Belgium and Finland closed flat.
In the German market, Rheinmetall, Commerzbank, Volkswagen and BMW lost 2 to 4.3%. Mercedes-Benz, Brenntag, Sartorius, Bayer, Symrise, BASF and Daimler Truck Holding also closed notably lower.
Zalando, Heidelberg Materials and Siemens Energy gained 3.4 to 3.7%. MTU Aero Engines climbed about 2.4%, while Adidas and Fresenius Medical Care gained 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively.
In the UK market, Compass Group ended lower by about 4.7%. Croda International lost more than 2.5%. Diageo, GSK, Schroders, IMI, Smith & Nephew, Tesco, Glencore, Admiral Group and Fresnillo lost 1 to 2.2%.
Games Workshop, Informa, JD Sports Fashion, Melrose Industries, M&G, Hiscox, Rentokil Initial, Shell and Kingfisher gained 1.5 to 3%.
In the French market, Thales and Eurofins Scientific closed lower by about 2% and 1.1%, respectively. Pernod Ricard and Kering also ended notably lower.
Schneider Electric gained about 3.2%. Hermes International, Safran, Saint Gobain, ArcelorMittal, Legrand, Vivendi, TotalEnergies and Edenred climbed 1 to 2%.
In economic news, data from Eurostat showed the Euro area's consumer price inflation rate eased to 2.3% in February, slightly below the preliminary estimate of 2.4% and down from a six-month high of 2.5% in January. The CPI rose 0.4% month-over-month in February 2025, slightly below 0.5% in the preliminary estimate, and compared to a 0.3% fall in January.
Core consumer prices in the Euro Area increased 2.6% in February over the same month in the previous year.
