European stock markets ended their recent winning trend on Tuesday, closing lower as traders opted to lock in some profits in anticipation of key economic events—U.S. consumer price inflation data and the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement, expected on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Concerns regarding China's economic prospects were heightened following data indicating a deceleration in its export growth alongside an unexpected decline in exports.
In Germany, November's consumer price inflation surged to a four-month peak, attributed to less advantageous energy base effects, according to official figures. The consumer price index increased annually by 2.2% in November, slightly above October's 2% rise, confirmed by Destatis. This rate was consistent with initial estimates from November 28.
The harmonized index of consumer prices remained at 2.4%, matching both October's figures and the preliminary projection.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 decreased by 0.52%. In specific indices, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell by 0.86%, Germany's DAX saw a slight decline of 0.08%, France's CAC 40 dropped by 1.14%, and Switzerland's SMI was down by 1.01%.
Across European markets, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkiye also closed with losses. Conversely, Austria, Belgium, Iceland, and Ireland recorded gains, while Denmark and Poland remained stable.
In the UK market, Ashtead Group plunged 14% following its announcement to move its listing from London to New York. Companies including Antofagasta, Vistry Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Endeavour Mining, and Glencore lost between 2% to 3.5%.
Notable declines were also observed in 3i Group, AstraZeneca, JD Sports Fashion, Persimmon, Legal & General, BAE Systems, Severn Trent, United Utilities, Bunzl, Mondi, Diploma, Vodafone Group, and Prudential. However, British Land gained over 1.5%, with Sainsbury (J), B&M European Value Retail, Tesco, and Spirax Group finishing with strong gains.
In Germany, Siemens Energy dropped 3.7%, while Beiersdorf, Rheinmetall, Deutsche Telekom, Zalando, Siemens, and Munich RE fell by 0.6% to 1.3%. Sartorius surged over 6%, and Qiagen increased nearly 5%. Volkswagen faced nearly a 2% decline amid ongoing negotiations with unionists.
TeamViewer suffered a more significant loss, falling over 12%, after agreeing to acquire London-based IT firm 1E for $720 million. Conversely, Siemens Healthineers, Merck, Commerzbank, HeidelbergCement, Henkel, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Bank, Symrise, and Vonovia appreciated between 1% and 2.2%.
In France, Unibail Rodamco, LVMH, Kering, and Schneider Electric experienced losses ranging from 2.5% to 3.1%. Hermes International, Publicis Groupe, Vivendi, Safran, and Carrefour ended lower, dropping 1.8% to 2.2%. Meanwhile, L'Oreal, Thales, Saint Gobain, Essilor, STMicroelectronics, Legrand, TotalEnergies, and AXA registered declines of 1% to 1.5%. Conversely, Stellantis, Renault, Credit Agricole, Teleperformance, and Pernod Ricard reported moderate gains.
