{"id":12997,"date":"2021-08-17T17:19:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T17:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/08\/17\/major-european-markets-close-mixed-after-cautious-session\/"},"modified":"2021-08-17T17:19:37","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T17:19:37","slug":"major-european-markets-close-mixed-after-cautious-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/08\/17\/major-european-markets-close-mixed-after-cautious-session\/","title":{"rendered":"Major European Markets Close Mixed After Cautious Session"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite lingering worries about growth due to the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus<\/span>, a few major markets<\/span> in Europe managed to close higher on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Worries about tighter regulation in China and the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan also dented sentiment.<\/p>\n

Overall, stocks turned in a mixed performance with investors tracking earnings news and the latest batch of economic data.<\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.07%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.38%, Germany’s DAX edged down marginally, and France’s CAC 40 shed 0.28%. Switzerland’s SMI surged up 0.47%.<\/p>\n

Among other markets in Europe, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkey closed higher.<\/p>\n

Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Spain ended weak.<\/p>\n

In the UK market, BHP Group climbed 3.4% after the miner posted its best annual profit in nearly a decade and confirmed the spin-off of its crude assets.<\/p>\n

Just Eat Takeaway.Com ended lower by about 3%. The online food ordering company said it has reached the peak of its absolute losses in the first half of 2021.,<\/p>\n

Rentokil Initial, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Scottish Mortgage, Ocado Group, Royal Dutch Shell, Fresnillo, Rolls-Royce Holdings and BP gained 1.5 to 3%.<\/p>\n

Pearson shares declined sharply after the publishing and education company has agreed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to pay $1 million to settle charges for misleading investors about cyber breach.<\/p>\n

IAG, Kingfisher, Whitbread, Johnson Matthey, Taylor Wimpey and British Land Co. shed 2 to 3.25%. IHG, Phoenix Group Holdings, ITV and Associated British Foods also declined sharply. Glencore drifted lower after the company said it acquired a stake in U.K. battery maker Britishvolt.<\/p>\n

In France, Faurecia slipped more than 3% on profit taking. Valeo, Societe Generale, Unibail Rodamco, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole lost 2 to 2.8%. ArcelorMittal, Renault, Accor and STMicroElectronics also ended notably lower.<\/p>\n

In the German market, Daimler, Infineon Technologies, Henkel, BMW, Allianz, Deutsche Bank and Covestro shed 1 to 2%, while Deutsche Post, Merck, SAP, E.ON and Thyssenkrupp moved higher.<\/p>\n

In the Swiss market, Swiss Life Holding shares declined 1.7% after the lender reported a fall in its premiums in the first half.<\/p>\n

Dutch tech firm Prosus, which has a stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent, declined sharply after Chinese regulators issued a lengthy set of draft rules for the internet sector, banning unfair competition and restricting the use of user data.<\/p>\n

The rules published by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) cover a wide range of areas from prohibitions on the way companies can use data to stamping out fake product reviews.<\/p>\n

In economic news, the UK unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percentage points to 4.7% in the second quarter, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. This was slightly below the expected rate of 4.8%.<\/p>\n

At the same time, there was a quarterly increase in the employment rate of 0.3 percentage points to 75.1%.<\/p>\n

A flash estimate from Eurostat showed the euro area economy<\/span> recovered from a technical recession in the second quarter. Gross domestic product grew 2% sequentially, in contrast to a 0.3% drop in the first quarter. The quarter-on-quarter growth rate matched the flash estimate released on July 30.<\/p>\n

On a yearly basis, GDP rebounded 13.6% after shrinking 1.3% in the first quarter. The annual rate was revised down from 13.7%. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n