{"id":14316,"date":"2021-09-24T17:17:04","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T17:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/09\/24\/european-stocks-close-lower-as-evergrandes-woes-weak-data-weigh\/"},"modified":"2021-09-24T17:17:04","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T17:17:04","slug":"european-stocks-close-lower-as-evergrandes-woes-weak-data-weigh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2021\/09\/24\/european-stocks-close-lower-as-evergrandes-woes-weak-data-weigh\/","title":{"rendered":"European Stocks Close Lower As Evergrande’s Woes, Weak Data Weigh"},"content":{"rendered":"
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European stocks closed on a weak note on Friday, snapping a three-day winning run, as uncertainty about Chinese real estate major Evergrande’s ability to pay interest on dollar-denominated bonds, and a batch of weak economic data from the region rendered the mood cautious.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has stated that Europe had limited direct exposure to Evergrande.<\/p>\n

Investors continued to react to the policy statements from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, which had announced their policies on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.<\/p>\n

The Federal Reserve said while releasing its monetary policy on Wednesday that it would likely start tapering its bond-buying program before the end of this year.<\/p>\n

The Fed also hinted at hiking interest rate in 2022, and signaled a series of hikes over the next two years as well.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Bank of England left its key policy rates and QE unchanged, but opined that the recent price developments appeared to have strengthened the case for a modest tightening of monetary policy.<\/p>\n

Investors also looked ahead to the polls in Germany this weekend to elect the nation’s Chancellor. Worries about the surge in coronavirus<\/span> cases in several countries hurt. Also, investors looked to take some profits after recent gains.<\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 0.9%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended 0.38% down, Germany’s DAX shed 0.72% and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.95%, while Switzerland’s SMI tumbled 1.02%. The FTSE 100 shed about 1.3% in the week, while the DAX and CAC 40 gained 1.1% and 0.2%, respectively.<\/p>\n

Among other markets<\/span> in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkey closed with sharp to moderate losses.<\/p>\n

Iceland drifted lower, while Czech Republic and Spain closed flat.<\/p>\n

In the UK market, Intertek Group, RightMove, Rentokil, Halma, Segro, Croda International, JD Sports Fashion, Entain, Bunzl, Severn Trent, 3I Group and British Land Co ended lower by 2 to 3.6%.<\/p>\n

Shares of food delivery firm Deliveroo declined sharply after the company lost a deal with Shell’s gas station convenience stores to rival Uber Eats.<\/p>\n

Rolls-Royce Holdings declined 4.4%. AstraZeneca, IAG, Intercontinental Hotels, Whitbread and Compass Group gained 1 to 2%.<\/p>\n

In France, Kering, Essilor, Legrand, LOreal, Hermes International, Veolia and Dassault Systemes lost 2 to 3%. LVMH, Capgemini, Schneider Electric, Unibail Rodamco and Airbus also closed notably lower.<\/p>\n

Sodexo climbed more than 3.5%. Air France-KLM, Accor, Renault and Valeo surged up 2 to 3%. Societe Generale and Carrefour also posted strong gains.<\/p>\n

In the German market, Sartorius tumbled nearly 6%. HelloFresh shed more than 4%, while Zalando, Puma, Symrise and Adidas lost 2.4 to 3%. Merck and Siemens also ended sharply lower.<\/p>\n

Daimler, Deutsche Bank, Covestro and HeidelbergCement ended on a weak note.<\/p>\n

In economic releases, survey results from the market research group Gfk showed UK consumer confidence weakened to a five-month low in September as consumers were concerned about personal financial situation as well as wider economic prospects.<\/p>\n

The consumer confidence index fell to -13 from -8 in August, the report said. This was the lowest reading since April 2021, when the score was -15.<\/p>\n

UK retail sales grew at the slowest pace in six months in September, the latest Distributive Trades Survey data from the Confederation of British Industry showed.<\/p>\n

Survey results from the ifo Institute showed German business<\/span> confidence weakened for the third straight month in September.<\/p>\n

The business climate index dropped to 98.8 in September from 99.6 in August. The score was forecast to fall to 98.9.<\/p>\n

Companies were less satisfied with their current business. They were also more skeptical about the coming months, the survey showed.<\/p>\n

The current situation index declined unexpectedly to 100.4 from 101.4 in the previous month. The expected level was 101.8. At the same time, the expectations index fell less-than-expected to 97.3 from 97.8 in August. The reading was seen at 96.5. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n