BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The major European markets settled slightly down on Tuesday as oil's rebound from lower levels and weakness in the tech sector amid renewed uncertainty about returns on AI investments rendered the mood cautious past mid-afternoon.
The markets started off on a firm note this morning as oil prices fell and bond yields edged lower.
Brent crude front-month futures, which fell to $104.35 a barrel, recovered to around $105.75 later on, trimming losses to around 0.8%.
Oil prices fell sharply as Russia partially lifted its diesel export restrictions, helping ease supply constraints in global fuel markets. According to Reuters, Russia expects to increase diesel exports from 3 million to 3.5 million metric tons per month by the end of 2026, returning to the levels seen before the crisis and potentially exceeding volumes announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Russia said EU countries bought $320.7 billion in hydrocarbons since 2022 despite sanctions, including $21.3 billion in 2026.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.1%. The UK's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 settled marginally down despite spending much of the day's session in positive territory. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.36% up.
Among other markets in Europe, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Türkiye posted notable gains.
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece and Sweden edged up marginally.
Iceland, Netherlands and Spain closed weak, while Finland ended flat.
Tech stocks were under pressure amid growing competition from China's CXMI and on renewed doubts over AI investment returns.
In the UK market, WPP climbed 4.2%. BP moved up 3.75% despite flagging $3-4.5 billion of impairments in its third quarter results.
Autotrader Group and Melrose Industries ended higher by 3.6% and 3.5%, respectively. Croda International, JD Sports Fashion, Ithaca Energy, Diageo, Marks & Spencer, Admiral Group, Whitbread, Kingfisher, Imperial Brands, Standard Life, Natwest Group, BT Group and Computacenter also posted strong gains.
Among miners, Antofagasta dropped 5.6%. Rio Tinto, Anglo American Plc and Fresnillo also declined sharply. Pharma stocks GSK and AstraZeneca ended down by 1.1% and 1%, respectively.
LSEG shed about 4.7%. Balfour Beatty, Rolls-Royce Holdings, IMI, Babcock International, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Halma, Aberdeen Group, IG Group Holdings and Scottish Mortgage fell 1%-4%.
Shares of research and data analytics group YouGov Plc soared nearly 14% after the company launched a share buyback program for up to £15 million, replacing its fiscal year 2026 annual dividend.
Premier Inn owner Whitbread advanced 2.15%. The company backed its five-year turnaround plan and urged its shareholders to vote against activist investor Corvex Management's proposal to appoint a Corvex-nominated director to its board.
Oxford Instruments gained nearly 1% after it reported nearly 44% growth in first-half order intake, driven by data-center demand at its Advanced Technologies division.
In the German market, Symrise gained more than 3%. BMW, Brenntag, Adidas, Continental, Commerzbank, Scout24, SAP, Zalando, Mercedes-Benz and Hannover RE also ended with impressive gains.
Siemens Energy, Infineon, Hochtief, Deutsche Bank, E.ON, Daimler Truck Holding and Rheinmetall ended notably lower.
In the French market, Teleperformance rallied 5.5%. Pernod Ricard jumped nearly 5%. Capgemini and Edenred climbed up 3.5% and 3.2%, respectively.
Michelin, Publicis Groupe, Dassault Systemes, Veolia Environment, Renault, Unibail Rodamco, TotalEnergies, L'Oreal, Orange, Societe Generale and Eurofins Scientific gained 1%-2.3%.
STMicroelectronics dropped more than 4%. Credit Agricole ended lower by about 2.5%. Hermes International, Safran, Legrand, Kering and Sanofi also declined sharply.
In economic news, data from the statistical office Destatis showed Germany's inflation accelerated to the highest level since late 2023 in September due to higher energy prices.
The consumer price index rose 3.3% year-on-year in September, following a 2.9% increase in August. The rate came in line with the flash estimate published on September 30 and also hit the strongest since December 2023, when it was 3.7%.
The EU measure of inflation that is based on the harmonized index of consumer price or HICP climbed to 3.3%, as estimated, from 2.9% in the previous month.
Core inflation that excludes food and energy prices remained unchanged at 2.4% in September, data showed.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices climbed 0.6% in September. The HICP also moved up 0.6% after rising 0.2% in the previous month. Both rates matched the preliminary estimates.
UK retail sales growth eased in September as households reduced spending amid concerns over expected rises in household bills and taxes, a report from the British Retail Consortium said.
The BRC-KPMG total retail sales grew 1.3% year-on-year in September, weaker than the 2.3% expansion seen in the same period of previous year.
Food sales rose 2.5% and non-food sales climbed 0.3% in September. The unusually warm weather weakened demand for clothing and footwear.
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