BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed broadly lower on Wednesday with investors continuing to follow the developments on the political front in Europe, and looking for fresh triggers from elsewhere.
The risk premium on French bonds held steady despite lingering worries about the country's debt path and fiscal situation.
National Rally leader Jordan Bardella said he will not become prime minister if his party doesn't get a resounding victory in France's snap election.
Polls indicate Marine Le Pen's party is best placed to become the largest group in the National Assembly, but projections show the party is set to fall short of an outright majority.
The Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank are scheduled to make their monetary policy announcements on Thursday.
With the U.S. market closed for the Juneteenth holiday, volumes are rather thin in European markets today.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.17%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended lower by 0.35% and 0.77%, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.17%, and Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.11%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Poland and Turkiye closed higher.
Finland, Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden ended weak, while Belgium, Iceland, Norway and Spain closed flat.
In the UK market, Smurfit Kappa Group climbed nearly 5%. Beazley, Hargreaves Lansdown, JD Sports Fashion, Anglo American, Centrica, Rolls-Royce Holdings and HSBC Holdings gained 0.9 to 2.3%.
Vodafone Group shares gained more than 1% after the telecom group sold an 18% stake in Indus Towers to repay debts
Berkeley Group Holdings tumbled more than 6%. Segro, Spirax Group, Persimmon, Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, Scottish Mortgage, Land Securities, ICG, Burberry Group, Halma, Unite Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Intertek Group lost 1 to 3%.
In the German market, Sartorius plunged more than 14%. Qiagen dropped 5.6%, Infineon ended down by about 3.6%, and Merck lost 3.1%. Bayer, Beiersdorf, Puma, Porsche, Symrise, Fresenius Medical Care and Zalando ended lower by 1 to 2%.
Siemens Energy climbed about 1.7%. BMW ended higher by 1.1%.
In Paris, STMicroElectronics ended down 4.7%, and Dassault Systemes dropped 3%. Sanofi, TotalEnergies, Eurofins Scientific, Societe Generale, Essilor, Pernod Ricard, BNP Paribas, Bouygues and L'Oreal also ended notably lower.
On the economic front, data from the Office for National Statistics showed consumer price inflation in the U.K. softened to 2% in May, as expected, from 2.3% in April. Inflation reached the target for the first time since July 2021.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices gained 0.3% in May, the same rate as seen in April. Prices were expected to climb 0.4%.
UK house prices increased for the second consecutive month in April, data released by the Office for National Statistics revealed. Average house prices grew 1.1% on a yearly basis in April, faster than the revised 0.9% rise in March.
This was the second consecutive month with an annual growth in prices following eight months of annual falls in prices, the ONS said.
The euro area current account surplus increased to a three-month high in April driven by trade in goods and services, the European Central Bank said Wednesday. The current account surplus totaled EUR 39 billion compared to March's surplus of EUR 36 billion.
Eurozone construction output decreased for the second straight month in April, largely due to weaker civil engineering projects. Construction output dropped 0.2% month-on-month in April, following a 0.5% fall in March, which was revised from a 0.1% growth estimated earlier.
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