European Stocks Close Lower On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks ended lower on Tuesday after a cautious session amid signs of a slowdown in global economic recovery due to the surge in coronavirus cases of the Delta variant.

Investors also looked ahead to Thursday's meeting of the European Central Bank, which may act to slow down its massive bond-buying program in light of recent stronger-than-expected inflation data.

The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 0.49%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down by 0.53%, Germany's DAX slid 0.56% and France's CAC 40 shed 0.26%, while Switzerland's SMI drifted down by 0.69%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkey closed weak.

Ireland and Spain edged up marginally, while Austria, Czech Republic, Finland and Iceland closed higher.

In the UK market, Berkeley Group Holdings, Ocado Group, Weir Group, Legal & General, Smiths Group and AstraZeneca lost 2 to 3%. Coca-Cola, Persimmon, Antofagasta, Rentokil Initial, Croda International, HSBC Holdings, Diageo and Lloyds Banking Group also ended notably lower.

TP ICAP Group shares slumped more than 10%. The world's largest inter-dealer broker reported a lower half-year profit.

Meggitt shares plunged more than 12% after US defense firm TransDigm ruled itself out of a potential $8 billion takeover bid for the British rival.

Smith (DS) Plc climbed 2.8% after upbeat trading update. Whitbread, Reckitt Benckiser, Flutter Entertainment, RightMove and Phoenix Group Holdings gained 1 to 2.4%.

Upmarket fashion retailer Ted Baker climbed more than 1% after sales surged during the second quarter.

In the French market, Danone declined by about 2.5% following a rating downgrade. Thales ended 2.25% down, while WorldLine, Safran, Engie, Renault, Airbus Group, Carrefour, Sanofi and Vivendi ended lower by 1 to 1.4%.

Sodexo moved up more than 2.5% and ArcelorMittal gained about 1.8%. Kering, Teleperformance, Legrand and Technip posted moderate gains.

In Germany, Linde and Merck both shed more than 2%. HeidelbergCement, RWE, Vonovia and Fresenius lost 1 to 1.6%.

Deutsche Telekom AG edged down marginally. The company has struck a share-swap deal with Softbank Group to increase its stake in U.S. unit T-Mobile and sold its Dutch unit in a major restructuring.

Dutch telecommunication company KPN jumped more than 4%.

Swiss insurer Zurich Insurance Group ended notably lower after unveiling new climate measures.

In economic releases, German industrial production grew 1% month-on-month in July, offsetting a revised 1% fall in June, Destatis reported. Economists had forecast a monthly growth of 0.9%.

On a yearly basis, industrial output advanced 5.7% in July, faster than the 5.4% increase posted in June.

Economic expectations declined in Germany for the fourth consecutive month, the ZEW economic research institute said with the corresponding index falling to 26.5 in September from 40.4 in August.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone GDP grew 2.2% sequentially in the second quarter, revised up from prior estimate of 2%.

U.K. house price index climbed 7.1% year-on-year in August following a 7.6% rise in the previous month, survey data from the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax showed.

The annual rate has slowed every month since hitting a peak of 9.6%in May. The latest increase was the slowest in five months.

Switzerland's jobless rate fell a seasonally to 2.9% in August from 3% in July, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed.

On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate fell to 2.7% in August from 2.8% in the previous month.