BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday as persisting concerns about Middle East tensions and elevated oil prices rendered the mood cautious. In addition to digesting the regional inflation data, investors looked ahead to the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting for clues about the central bank's future interest rate moves.
Oil prices moved higher after reports suggested that most shipowners are avoiding the Strait of Hormuz because of a lack of clear signals on its reopening.
Brent crude futures jumped after a bulk carrier was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, raising the prospect of ongoing disruptions to supply.
Iran maintained that the strategic waterway will not be opened until the United States meets its demands. Iran's Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi today warned Gulf states that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor U.S. military will be considered participation alongside U.S. forces.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.11%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 edged lower by 0.14% and 0.09%, respectively. The UK's FTSE 100 settled with a gain of 0.14%, while Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.46%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain ended higher.
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Russia and Türkiye closed weak, while Norway and Sweden ended flat.
In the UK market, miners moved higher, contributing to market's marginally positive close. Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining jumped 7.85% and 7.5%, respectively. Glencore, Anglo American Plc, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto climbed 3.7%-5.3%
Croda International rallied 5.3%. ICG, Scottish Mortgage, Weir, AstraZeneca, JD Sports Fashion, Experian, GSK, Sainsbury (J), AutoTrader Group" Unilever, Kingfisher, Intercontinental Hotels Group and BP gained 1%-2.3%.
IG Group Holdings closed 4.8% down. Smith & Nephew closed 3.7% down. The medical technology company disclosed that its CFO John Rogers has resigned from the board with immediate effect to take a new position in the United States.
BAE Systems, National Grid, Aviva, Halma, Standard Chartered, Lloyds Banking Group, M&G, SSE, Imperial Brands, Hiscox, Natwest Group, Barclays, IMI, Marks & Spencer, Centrica, Convatec Group and British American Tobacco lost 1%-3%.
In the German market, Volkswage, Porsche Automobil Holding, Qiagen, SAP, Symrise, BASF, Heidelberg Materials, Scout24, Siemens Healthineers, Brenntag, Merck, Beiersdorf and Deutsche Telekom gained 1%-3%.
Infineon shed nearly 4%. Rheinmetall, Hannover RE, MTU Aero Engines, Hochtief, RWE and Munich RE lost 1.7%-3%. Continental, Commerzbank and E.ON also ended notably lower.
In the French market, Stellantis climbed nearly 6%. Edenred, Capgemini, Teleperformance and Renault gained 2%-3.1%.
L'Oreal, LVMH, Kering, Dassault Systemes, Eurofins Scientific, Hermes International, Saint-Gobain, Sanofi, Unibail Rodamco and TotalEnergies also ended with solid gains.
STMicroelectronics, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Thales ended down by 2%-4%. AXA, Engie and Safran also closed notably lower.
In economic news, final data from Destatis showed Eurozone inflation rose slightly in July, edging up to 2.9% from 2.8% a month earlier. The rate came in line with the estimate published on July 31.
Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose to 2.5% from 2.4% in the previous month. The core rate also matched the preliminary estimate.
On a monthly basis, the harmonized index of consumer prices climbed 0.2% in July, as initially estimated.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics showed UK's consumer price index posted an annual growth of 2.9% in July, faster than the 2.6% rise in June. This was the highest in four months and matched economists' expectations.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.3%, following a 0.1% gain a month earlier. Core inflation, which excludes prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, remained unchanged at 2.6% in July.
The CPI goods annual rate rose to 2.2% from 1.7% and services inflation eased to 3.4% from 3.6 percent.
Another data from ONS showed that factory gate inflation softened to 3.1% in July from 3.5% in June. Likewise, input price inflation eased sharply to 4.9% from 7.4% in the previous month.
Further, data showed that monthly output prices rose 0.2% in July, up from a revised fall of 0.1% in June. At the same time, input prices fell 1.7% compared to a 1.9% decline in the prior month.
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