BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks failed to hold early gains and drifted lower on Wednesday as investors chose to lighten commitments ahead of some crucial economic data from the U.S., including a report on personal income & spending, and amid uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.
Some developments on the corporate front aided the markets early on in the session, but the mood turned cautious around noon.
Hawkish comments from some Fed officials, and uncertainty on the political front weighed on sentiment.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.56%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 settled lower by 0.27%, Germany's DAX edged down 0.12%, and France's CAC 40 closed down by 0.69%. Switzerland's SMI drifted down 0.58%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkiye ended weak.
Russia and Sweden closed higher, while Norway ended flat.
In the UK market, Smurfit Kappa Group, Entain, Land Securities, Imperial Brands, Phoenix Group Holdings, Frasers Group, Compass Group, Vodafone Group, Easyjet, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Next, Admiral Group, Mondi, Burberry Group and Segro lost 1 to 2.2%.
Convatec Group, Marks & Spencer, Centrica, Scottish Mortgage, Associated British Foods, Diploma and Sage Group gained 1 to 2%. Deliveroo gained about 1.2% after reports of takeover interest from U.S. rival DoorDash.
Gelion Plc shares surged 54% after the Anglo-Australian battery innovator said it has signed a Joint Development Agreement with Glencore International AG, a diversified resource company.
In the German market, BMW, BASF, Continental, Merck, Qiagen, RWE, Brenntag, Rheinmetall and Zalando lost 1 to 2.5%.
Volkswagen ended lower by about 1.7% after the automaker announced $5 billion investment in Rivian, the American EV maker, in a joint venture.
SAP climbed about 2.5%. Sartorius, Adidas, Siemens Healthineers, Infineo and Henkel gained 1 to 2%.
In the French market, Bouygues, Airbus Group, Unibail Rodamco, Renault, ArcelorMittal, Thales, Carrefour, Edenred, Pernod Ricard, Accor, TotalEnergies, LVMH, Publicis Groupe, Credit Agricole, STMicroElectronics and Safran ended lower by 1 to 3%.
Eurofins Scientific ended with a strong gain of about 3.2%.
In economic news, German consumer confidence is set to deteriorate in July as the economy struggles to gain momentum, a closely watched survey showed.
After rising for four straight months, the consumer climate index dropped unexpectedly to -21.8 in July from -21.0 in June, the survey published jointly by GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions showed. The score was forecast to climb to -19.4.
French consumer confidence weakened in June on rising concerns about future standard of living, monthly survey results published by the statistical office INSEE showed. The consumer confidence index fell to 89 in June, in line with expectations, from 90 in May. The indicator has remained well below its long-term average of 100.
According to the latest Distributive Traders survey results published by the Confederation of British Industry, UK retailers reported an unexpected fall in sales volume in June and forecast another decline next month.
A net 24 of retailers said sales declined in the year to June, reversing a moderate recovery in May. The retail sales balance was forecast to fall to +1 percent from +8 percent in May.
About 9% of respondents said the sales volume will fall in July. Further, around 29% said sales volumes are expected to remain below seasonal norms in July.
The survey showed that internet sales declined at an accelerated pace in June, with the balance falling to -45% from -6% in the previous month.
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