BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The major European markets closed on a weak note on Tuesday despite stocks staging a significant recovery past mid-afternoon.
Concerns about rising civil unrest in France and Italy, and high oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East hurt sentiment early on in the session. Mass protests throughout France last week over rising cost of living turned out extremely violent over the weekend with rioters indulging in looting and destroying government and private properties.
Concerns over valuations of AI-related stocks and data showing a sharp acceleration in Germany's producer price inflation added to the weak sentiment.
The recovery came after bond yields dropped a bit and oil prices pared early gains and slipped into negative territory
Crude oil prices moved sharply higher due to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia infrastructure and reports of vessel attacks in the Gulf. Brent crude front-month futures climbed to $111.99 a barrel but retreated to $105.95 before recovering to around $107 a barrel.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.14%. The UK's FTSE 100 closed lower by 0.29%, Germany's DAX edged down 0.06% and France's CAC settled lower by 0.38%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.76%, recovering well past noon.
Other markets in Europe ended the day on a mixed note. Austria, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden ended weak.
Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Russia, Spain and Türkiye closed higher.
In the UK market, shares of distribution and services group Bunzl dropped nearly 3% despite the company posting a rise in third-quarter revenue and maintaining its annual forecast.
Diploma ended lower by about 4%. IG Group Holdings dropped nearly 3%. Halma, Rio Tinto, Glencore, Weir, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Standard Chartered and Antofagasta lost 2%-3%.
Spirax Group and WPP declined by nearly 2%. JD Sports Fashion, BP, Computacenter, Scottish Mortgage, AutoTrader Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Hiscox lost 1%-1.7%.
Barratt Redrow jumped nearly 4%. Experian and Howden Joiner Group moved up 2.7% and 2.5%, respectively. SSE, National Grid, AstraZeneca, Whitbread, Severn Trent, United Utilities, ICG, 3i Group, St. James's Place, LondonMetric Property, Investec and Intecontinental Hotels Group also closed on firm note.
In the German market, Qiagen climbed nearly 4%. E.ON ended with a gain of about 2.9%. Scout24, Mercedes-Benz, Merck, Allianz, BMW, Fresenius Medical Care and Siemens Healthineers moved up 1%-1.8%.
Brenntag, Zalando, Siemens, Siemens Energy, Commerzbank, Infineon and Deutsche Bank closed weak.
In the French market, Sanofi surged 3.7%. Accor advanced nearly 3%. Renault ended 1.7% up, while Saint-Gobain, AXA, Michelin, Unibail Rodamco and Danone gained 0.7%-1.1%.
Schneider Electric and Legrand dropped 3.3% and 3%, respectively. Edenred drifted down 2.5%, while STMicroelectronics, EssilorLuxottica, Bureau Veritas, LVMH, Thales, Safran, Pernod Ricard and TotalEnergies lost 0.7%-1.25%.
In economic news, data from the federal statistical office Destatis showed Germany's producer prices increased 6.7% year-on-year in September, marking the sixth straight month of producer price growth and accelerating from August's reading of 4.6%. It was the fastest increase in producer prices since March 2023.
On a monthly basis, prices climbed 1.9%, following a 1.1% rise in August, marking the fastest pace in six months and exceeding market estimates of a 0.8% gain.
Data released by the European Central Bank showed the eurozone current account surplus fell sharply to Euro7.7 billion in August, down from Euro18.1 billion a year earlier. The goods surplus declined to Euro10.5 billion, its lowest level since April 2023, while the primary income account swung to a Euro2.3 billion deficit from a Euro2.6 billion surplus.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics showed the UK unemployment rate declined in the three months to August. The ILO unemployment rate stood at 4.7% in the June to August period compared to 4.9% in the preceding period, the data showed.
Economists had forecast the rate to remain unchanged at 4.9%.
In the three months to August, average earnings including bonus grew 3.7% from a year ago, weaker than forecast of 3.8%. This followed a 3.9% increase in the previous period.
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