BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed lower on Wednesday amid worries about economic slowdown in the region and a bit of uncertainty about the outlook for Federal Reserve's interest-rate trajectory ahead of inflation data.
Growth worries weighed after European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said the euro zone is facing weak growth and a possible recession.
De Guindos said that economic weakness was broad-based, with construction and manufacturing hit particularly hard and services likely to follow in the coming months.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.18%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.42%, France's CAC 40 edged down 0.01%, and Germany's DAX crept up 0.01%, while Switzerland's SMI settled lower by 0.04%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden ended weak.
Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Russia and Turkiye closed higher, while Spain ended flat.
In the UK market, shares of supermarket chain J Sainsbury ended down by more than 6% after the company revealed a strong Christmas sales performance for groceries but falls in non-food categories.
Admiral Group ended 4.7% down. BT, Flutter Entertainment, Ocado Group, Endeavour, Beazley and Fresnillo shed 2.6 to 4%. Marks & Spencer, Natwest Group, Mondi, Entain, Vodafone, Centrica and Lloyds Banking also ended sharply lower.
Intertek, Berkeley Holdings, Barratt Developments, Relx, IHG, Taylor Wimpey and BAE Systems gained 1 to 2%. Baker and food-to-go company Greggs climbed 5.1% after reporting strong year-end sales.
Hunting gained 3%. The precision engineering group confirmed its 2023 financial performance aligns with previous guidance and market expectations.
In the German market, Sartorius declined nearly 3%. Qiagen, Bayer, Covestro, Commerzbank, Zlando, Symrise and Infineon ended down 1.3 to 2.1%.
HeidelbergCement rallied nearly 2.5%. Siemens Energy, SAP, Puma and Vonovia gained 1 to 2%.
In Paris, WorldLine dropped 3.7% and Saint Gobain ended lower by about 3.2%. Both Worldline and Saint Gobain were weighed down by rating downgrades.
Alstom, Societe Generale, Capgemini, Michelin, STMicroElectronics and Carrefour ended down 0.8 to 1.7%.
Hermes International firmed nearly 1.5%, and Safran gained 1.2%, while Thales, Stellantis, Dassault Systemes and Unibail Rodamco advanced 0.7 to 1%.
Data released by the statistical office INSEE showed France's industrial production grew for the first time in four months in November, rising by 0.5% in the month, in contrast to the 0.3% fall in October.
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