**European Stocks See Significant Decline Ahead of Federal Reserve Policy Announcement and U.S. Inflation Data Release**
European markets concluded with notable declines on Tuesday, as investors opted to reduce their exposure ahead of the Federal Reserve's imminent monetary policy announcement as well as the eagerly anticipated U.S. consumer price inflation data.
Investors also reviewed U.K. employment statistics and corporate updates, while political developments remained a focal point.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the U.K. unemployment rate experienced a slight uptick in the three-month period ending in April, with robust wage growth persisting. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, up from 4.3% in the preceding three months to March, contrary to forecasts that anticipated it would remain at 4.3%.
While the Federal Reserve is broadly expected to maintain current interest rates, market participants will closely scrutinize the updated economic and rate projections from Fed officials.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 slid by 0.93%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 fell by 0.98%, Germany’s DAX dipped 0.68%, and France’s CAC 40 retreated by 1.33%. Switzerland’s SMI also ended the day down by 0.53%.
Other European markets, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Sweden, also closed on a weaker note. In contrast, markets in Iceland and Turkey reported gains.
In the U.K. market, shares of Antofagasta, Standard Chartered, Marks & Spencer, Admiral Group, Unite Group, Barclays Group, Sainsbury’s, Land Securities, HSBC Holdings, NatWest Group, Schroders, and Glencore saw losses ranging from 2% to 4.3%.
Rio Tinto dropped nearly 2%, following the announcement that the mining giant will acquire Mitsubishi Corp’s 11.65% stake in Boyne Smelters for an undisclosed amount.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals jumped approximately 2.25%, while Rentokil Initial, Convatec Group, ICG, and RS Group achieved gains between 1% and 1.5%.
In Germany, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Rheinmetall, Fresenius, Adidas, Zalando, Bayer, MTU Aero Engines, Vonovia, Volkswagen, Deutsche Post, Allianz, and Siemens Energy recorded declines of 1% to 3%.
Conversely, Covestro surged nearly 7%, and companies such as Brenntag, Symrise, Sartorius, and RWE registered modest gains.
In the French market, Societe Generale fell by roughly 5% amid reports of difficulties in selling its securities services unit. Other significant losers included BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Unibail-Rodamco, Vinci, ArcelorMittal, Veolia, Kering, Thales, Teleperformance, Engie, and Renault, which dropped between 2% and 4%.
Conversely, Carrefour and Edenred ended the session significantly higher.
