BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed lower on Tuesday with investors largely staying cautious, looking ahead to the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting, and a report on U.K. inflation for the month of April.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down by 0.18%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.09%, Germany's DAX closed lower by 0.22% and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.67%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 0.3% down, snapping a long winning streak.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Poland and Russia ended weak.
Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Turkiye closed higher. Iceland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended flat.
In the UK market, AstraZeneca gained about 2.25% after the drug maker said it is aiming for $80 billion in total revenue by 2030.
Schrodders climbed nearly 4%. Centrica, Admiral Group and BAE Systems gained 1 to 1.3%.
BT Group dropped about 3.2%. RS Group, JD Sports Fashion, Vodafone Group, Smith (DS), EasyJet, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Scottish Mortgage lost 2 to 2.7%.
In the German market, Rheinmetall rallied nearly 3%. Hannover Rueck gained about 1.4% and Covestro gained 1.1%. Siemens Healthineers, Symrise, Beiersdorf and Munich posted moderate gains.
Infineon, Vonovia, Fresenius Medical Care, Deutsche Post, Porsche and Siemens Energy lost 1.4 to 3%.
In the French market, Dassault Systemes gained about 1.7%. Sanofi, Michelin and Capgemini gained 0.7 to 1%.
Teleperformance, Pernod Ricard, Accor, STMicroElectronics, Societe Generale, LVMH, Vivendi, Stellantis and Renault ended notably lower.
In economic releases, the euro area current account surplus increased in March on improving primary income, the European Central Bank reported.
The current account balance posted a surplus of EUR 36 billion in March compared to a EUR 29 billion surplus in February. In the same period last year, the balance was in EUR 13 billion surplus.
The surplus on goods trade fell to EUR 33 billion from EUR 34 billion in the prior month. Likewise, the services surplus decreased to EUR 5 billion from EUR 7 billion.
Eurozone construction output increased for the fourth straight month in March, though at a slower pace amid lower building construction projects, data from Eurostat showed.
Construction output rose 0.1% month-on-month in March, following a 0.4% gain in February.
German producer prices decreased 3.3% on a yearly basis in April, faster than the 2.9% fall in March, data from Destatis revealed. Economists had forecast an annual fall of 3.2%.
On a monthly basis, producer prices advanced 0.2%, the same pace of increase as seen in March and also matched economists' expectations.
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