{"id":61907,"date":"2025-07-14T17:30:52","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/07\/14\/european-stocks-close-mostly-lower-4\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T17:30:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:30:52","slug":"european-stocks-close-mostly-lower-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/07\/14\/european-stocks-close-mostly-lower-4\/","title":{"rendered":"European Stocks Close Mostly Lower"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite staging a recovery in late afternoon trades, European markets<\/span> mostly ended on a weak note on Monday as worries about global trade escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he would levy a 50% tariff on EU imports from August 1.<\/p>\n

According to media reports, the European Union has prepared a \u20ac21 billion ($24.52 billion) tariff package targeting American goods if trade talks between the two sides collapsed.<\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.32%. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 closed down by 0.94% and 0.44%, respectively. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.41% and hit a fresh record high. Switzerland’s SMI edged up 0.02%.<\/p>\n

Among other markets in Europe, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak. <\/p>\n

Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Russia and Spain ended higher, while Austria closed flat.<\/p>\n

In the UK market, AstraZeneca gained more than 2% after its experimental drug baxdrostat proved to be successful in lowering high blood pressure in a late-stage study.<\/p>\n

Tesco, National Grid, IAG, Associated British Foods, Babcock International, Standard Chartered, Imperial Brands, Fresnillo, United Utilities, British American Tobacco, Prudential, Kingfisher and Severn Trent gained 1.5 to 2.2%.<\/p>\n

Aviva, Vodafone Group, Unilever, HSBC Holdings, Barclays, Sainsbury (J), Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Endeavour Mining also ended notably higher.<\/p>\n

Spirax Group ended down 2.6%. JD Sports Fashion, WPP, Melrose Industries, Shell, Antofagasta, BP, DCC, Bunzl and Anglo American Plc lost 1 to 1.7%.<\/p>\n

In the German market, Zalando closed more than 5% down. Sartorius ended down 4.7%. Puma, Brenntag, Merck, BMW, Daimler Truck Holding, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Continental, Volkswagen, Infineon, BASF, Siemens and Deutsche Post lost 1 to 3%.<\/p>\n

Commerzbank gained more than 2%. Rheinmetall climbed about 1.8%, while E.ON and Qiagen both gained about 1%.<\/p>\n

In the French market, defense-related stocks found some support after President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for a massive boost to France’s defense spending, citing a greater threat from Russia. <\/p>\n

STMicroElectronics, Capgemini, Teleperformance, LVMH, Vivendi, ArcelorMittal, Pernod Ricard, Legrand, Hermes International and TotalEnergies lost 1 to 2.7%.<\/p>\n

Orange climbed about 1.8%. Thales, Bouygues, Accor and Unibail Rodamco gained 1 to 1.5%.<\/p>\n

In economic news, UK companies reduced their hiring activity further in June amid uncertainty over the business<\/span> outlook and budget constraints, monthly data from S&P Global revealed Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Permanent staff appointments declined at the fastest pace in nearly two years in June and temp billings dropped the most since February, the KPMG\/REC Report on Jobs said. Companies pulled back on hiring due to reduced confidence and worries about costs.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the availability of staff increased amid reports of redundancies and weaker demand for workers. The supply of permanent labor grew at a slightly faster rate than that seen for temporary candidates, in each case the rate of growth was the sharpest registered since November 2020. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n