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European stocks closed lower on Tuesday with investors making largely cautious moves ahead of some key economic data from the region, including readings on inflation.<\/p>\n
Analysts’ warning that the euro area’s economy<\/span>, including the zone’s gross domestic product, could be impacted if Donald Trump were to win the presidential election in November weighed on sentiment.<\/p>\n Investors were also reacting to the results of a survey that showed German investor morale worsened more than expected in July.<\/p>\n The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.28%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.22%, Germany’s DAX closed lower by 0.39% and France’s CAC 40 ended down 0.69%, while Switzerland’s SMI closed 0.15% down.<\/p>\n Among other markets<\/span> in Europe, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain ended weak.<\/p>\n Iceland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher, while Austria and Belgium ended flat.<\/p>\n In the U.K. market, Burberry Group and Severn Trent ended down 5.3% and 4.8%, respectively. United Utilities, Glencore, Rio Tinto, Anglo American Plc and Experian lost 2 to 4%.<\/p>\n Hargreaves Lansdown, ICG, Entain, Land Securities Group, Shell and BT Group also ended notably lower.<\/p>\n Ocado shares climbed 8.5% after the online grocer raised profit forecasts for its key technology<\/span> division.<\/p>\n B&M European Value Retail rallied 4.3%. The discount retailer sounded optimistic about achieving profitable, cash-generating growth for the full financial year after reporting a 2.4% revenue increase in Q1 FY2024.<\/p>\n JD Sports Fashion, Smith (DS), Marks & Spencer, Airtel Africa, Kingfisher, Rolls-Royce Holdings, F&C Investment, Sainsbury (J), IHG, Ashtead Group, Mondi, Convatec Group and Natwest Group gained 1.2 to 3.5%.<\/p>\n In the German market, Porsche dropped 4.7%. Hannover Rueck, Puma, Munich RE, Infineon, Mercedes-Benz, Bayer, Siemens Healthineers, Adidas, Volkswagen, BMW and Deutsche Bank ended lower by 1 to 2.3%.<\/p>\n German fashion house Hugo Boss plummeted more than 7% as the company lowered its full-year outlook after a challenging second quarter amid weakening consumer demand in markets such as China and the U.K.<\/p>\n Commerzbank climbed about 3.35%. Fresenius gained 2.5%. HeidelbergCement, Merck, Sartorius and Qiagen moved up 1 to 1.7%.<\/p>\n In the French market, Kering tumbled 3.1%. ArcelorMittal, Hermes International, LVMH, TotalEnergies, L’Oreal, Dassault Systemes, Pernod Ricard and Accor lost 1 to 2.5%.<\/p>\n SCOR plummeted after issuing a profit warning, saying it currently expects L&H insurance service result for the second quarter to be a loss of 0.4 billion euros, primarily driven by updates on reserves, and continued negative experience variance.<\/p>\n Saint-Gobain, Safran, Unibail Rodamco, Legrand, Credit Agricole and Edenred posted notable gains.<\/p>\n On the economic front, German economic confidence declined for the first time in a year in July amid weak exports, political uncertainty and the lack of clarity about the future monetary policy, survey data from the ZEW economic research institute showed.<\/p>\n The economic sentiment index fell sharply to a four-month low of 41.8 in July from 47.5 in the previous month. The score was forecast to drop moderately to 41.2.<\/p>\n By contrast, current situation improved slightly in July. The corresponding index rose to -68.9 from -73.8 in June. The reading was seen at -74.3. “The economic outlook is worsening,” ZEW President Achim Wambach said.<\/p>\n The euro area trade surplus declined to a four-month low in May on weak exports, official data showed. The trade balance posted a surplus of EUR 13.9 billion in May compared to a surplus of EUR 14.2 billion in April, Eurostat reported. This was the lowest surplus since January.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, in the same period last year, the trade balance was in EUR 0.4 billion deficit.<\/p>\n Exports logged a decrease of 0.5% annually, in contrast to the sharp 13.5% increase in April. At the same time, imports declined 6.4%, reversing a 1.8% rise in the previous month. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n