European Stocks Close Lower On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed notably lower on Wednesday as concerns about interest rate hikes and a potential recession later this year in the U.S., weighed on sentiment.

Worries about turmoil in the banking sector resurfaced after First Republic reported a loss of more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter.

Investors also digested the latest batch of earnings updates and economic data from the U.S. and the euro area.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended 0.83% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX shed 0.49% and 0.48%, respectively, while France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.86%. Switzerland's SMI fell 1.29%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye ended weak.

Finland, Greece and Iceland closed higher, while Austria, Norway, Portugal and Spain ended flat.

In the UK market, Spirax-Sarco Engineering tumbled 5.5%. GSK, Astrazeneca, Reckitt Benckiser, Halma and BAE Systems lost 2 to 4%.

CRH declined 3.7% after a warning that it expects a more challenging backdrop in Europe, driven by continued inflationary pressures and some slowdown in the new-build residential sector.

Persimmon rallied nearly 5% after saying trading over recent weeks has offered some signs of encouragement.

Taylor Wimpey, Vodafone Group, Airtel Africa, Barratt Developments and Glencore gained 2 to 4%. Standard Chartered surged 2% after reporting a 21% rise in pre-tax profit, ahead of expectations.

Smith & Nephew, Natwest Group, Barclays, Antofagasta, British Land Co., Land Securities Group, Sainsbury (J), British American Tobacco, Rio Tinto, WPP and Ashtead also ended notably higher.

In Paris, Teleperformance plunged more than 14%. Dassault Systemes fell 6.5%, while Kering, Thales, Schneider Electric, Sanofi and Legrand lost 2 to 3%.

Vinci, Unibail Rodamco, Bouygues, Eurofins Scientific, Carrefour, ArcelorMittal, Vivendi and Credit Agricole gained 1 to 3%.

Orange gained more than 2% after reporting higher Q1 revenue and confirming its full-year outlook.

In the German market, Puma lost around 2.3% after the sportswear maker said it expects second-quarter sales to grow at a low- to mid-single-digit percentage rate.

Brenntag, Qiagen, Deutsche Boerse, Siemens Healthineers, Daimler Truck Holding, Deutsche Post and Siemens ended lower by 1 to 2.3%.

Vonovia climbed 2.6% after the housing giant agreed to sell a minority stake in its Suedewo residential portfolio to U.S. investor Apollo for 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion).

Covestro gained about 1.6%. Zalando, Volkswagen and E.On posted moderate gains.

On the economic front Germany's consumer confidence will strengthen in May as households were more positive about their income prospects following higher expectations for wage growth amid slowing inflation.

The consumer confidence index rose to -25.7 in May from a revised -29.3 in April, survey results from the market research group GfK showed Wednesday. The score was better than economists' forecast of -27.9.

Although consumer sentiment improved for the seventh straight month, the value remains below the pre-pandemic level of about three years ago, GfK consumer expert Rolf Burkl said.

French consumer confidence improved for the first time in three months in April, as households' future saving capacity and financial situation increased amid a sharp easing in inflation expectations, survey results from the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday.

The consumer sentiment index rose slightly to 83 in April from a revised 82 in March. The score was expected to fall to 81.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by much more than expected in March amid a substantial rebound in orders for transportation equipment.

The report said durable goods orders spiked by 3.2% in March after tumbling by a revised 1.2% in February. Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8% compared to the 1% slump that had been reported for the previous month.