BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks tumbled on Tuesday and several markets recorded their biggest single-session decline in several weeks, as concerns about the potential adverse impact of Donald Trump's protectionist policies on global economic and political front weighed on sentiment.
A sell-off in mining stocks following a sharp drop in metal prices contributed significantly to the decline in several markets.
According to reports, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will appoint Michael Waltz as his national security adviser and Marco Rubio as secretary of state, indicating hardline positions on China, Iran and Venezuela.
Meanwhile, according to data provider DDHQ, Trump's Republican Party had won a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, signaling a majority for Republicans in both chambers of Congress.
It is feared that Trump's aggressive tariff hikes could fuel inflation eventually and stop the Fed from cutting rates. Tariffs also carry the risk of retaliation from major trading partners.
On the economic front, the focus remains on U.S. consumer price inflation data on Wednesday, and a slew of speeches by Federal Reserve officials this week, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday.
The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 1.98%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 1.22%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed down 2.13% and 2.69%, respectively, while Switzerland's SMI settled lower by 1.6%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden lost 1 to 3%.
Iceland and Norway closed modestly lower, while Greece edged up marginally.
In the UK market, Vodafone Group dropped more than 8% after the British telecoms group suffered falling revenue in its biggest market Germany.
Fresnillo closed nearly 8% down. Vistry Group, Prudential, Anglo American Plc, Croda International, EasyJet, Airtel Africa and Glencore lost 3.2 to 5.6%.
Frasers Group, WPP, Barratt Redrow, Mondi, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Beazley, Intertek Group and Rio Tinto closed down 2 to 3%. Antofagasta, Schrodders, Severn Trent, Relx and Natwest Group also declined sharply.
Convatec Group soared more than 22%. The medical products and technologies company said that it is on track to deliver full-year double-digit adjusted earnings per share or EPS growth guidance. The company has also raised organic sales growth guidance, citing a trading growth across all categories.
DCC zoomed 14.2% after the sales and marketing services provider announced plans to sell its healthcare division and review 'strategic options' for its technology business.
RightMove gained 2.65%. Smith & Nephew closed up nearly 2% and Centrica gained about 1.1%.
In the German market, Bayer tanked more than 15%. The pharmaceutical and life sciences major reported a loss in its third quarter and weak adjusted EBITDA, amid nearly flat sales. The net loss, however, was narrower than last year, while EBIT loss widened.
Further, the company trimmed its fiscal 2024 adjusted EBITDA forecast for the group and for Crop Science unit, citing the weaker-than-anticipated development of the agricultural market, but maintained guidance for sales growth, and core earnings per share.
Brenntag lost about 8%. BASF, Continental, Siemens, Siemens Energy, Puma, Siemens Healthineers, Adidas, Hannover Rueck, Commerzbank, Symrise, HeidelbergCement, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Post, Allianz, E.ON, RWE and Munich RE closed down 2 to 4.3%.
Infineon rallied more than 4%. Rheinmetall gained about 1.3%, while Sartorius ended with a modest gain.
In the French market, Kering closed more than 6% down. LVMH, ArcelorMittal, Teleperformance, Schneider Electric, Hermes International, Edenred, Airbus Group, Safran, Legrand, BNP Paribas, Vivendi, Publicis Groupe, TotalEnergies, Carrefour and Essilor lost 2 to 5%.
STMicroElectronics bucked the trend and climbed about 3.75%.
In economic news, the UK unemployment rate rose more than expected in the third quarter and wage growth softened, adding pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates further. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in the September quarter from 4% in three months to August period, the Office for National Statistics reported. The rate was seen at 4.1%.
After falling below the 2% target, German inflation accelerated again in October on higher food prices and ongoing above-average price increases for services, final data from Destatis showed. The consumer price index rose 2% year-on-year, as initially estimated in October. Prices had increased 1.6% in September.
German economic sentiment deteriorated in November as the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election and the collapse of the German government coalition damped expectations, survey results from the think tank ZEW showe. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment dropped to 7.4 in November from 13.1 in the previous month. The index was expected to remain broadly unchanged at 13.
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