BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed lower on Wednesday amid concerns that Donald Trump's protectionist policies would put upward pressure on inflation and hamper global growth. Investors also digested regional economic data and earnings updates.
The pan European Stoxx 600 closed down 0.13%. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.16% and 0.14%, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.06%, while Switzerland's SMI settled lower by 0.07%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden closed weak.
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Russia ended higher.
In the UK market, Intermediate Capital Group closed down 7.2%. DCC ended down 3.79% and Convatec Group declined 3.03%.
Segro, BAE Systems, Experian, Land Securities Group, Spirax Group, RightMove, Barratt Redrow, Whitbread, Pearson, Intertek Group, Persimmon, British Land, National Grid and Londonmetric Property lost 1.3 to 3%.
Smiths Group zoomed 10.5% after the engineering group resumed and increased its share buyback program. Flutter Entertainment, a leading operator in the online sports betting and iGaming industry, climbed nearly 7% after reporting robust third-quarter results.
Babcock International gained 3.3% as the weapons maker reported a sharp jump in half-year profits and backed FY25 expectations. Vodafone Group gained 3% and Standard Chartered rallied 2.3%.
Fresnillo, Diploma, Scottish Mortgage, AstraZeneca, Admiral Group, Ashtead Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Sage Group, Melrose Industries and HSBC Holdings gained 1 to 1.7%.
In the German market, Infineon lost more than 4%. Bayer ended nearly 4% down, and Volkswagen drifted down almost 3%. Symrise, Qiagen, Vonovia, Sartorius, BMW, Daimler Truck Holding, Deutsche Bank, Porsche, Deutsche Post, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens Healthineers and Fresenius lost 1 to 2.2%.
Siemens Energy soared about 18% after the German utility sector supplier raised its mid-term targets and set a new record for its order book.
RWE closed up nearly 7% after the company announced a €1.5 billion share buyback program. Brenntag gained about 2.3%.
In the French market, STMicroElectronics lost more than 4%. Capgemini, Edenred, Thales, Societe Generale, Michelin, Dassault Systemes, Eurofins Scientific, Vinci, Bouygues, Renault and Airbus Group closed lower by 1 to 3.5%.
Publicis Groupe climbed 1.5%. Hermes International, Saint Gobain, Kering, Schneider Electric, Air Liquide and Safran gained 0.6 to 1.1%.
Data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's unemployment rate rose marginally in the third quarter. The ILO jobless rate rose to 7.4% from 7.3% in the second quarter. The rate was 7.4% in the same period last year and also matched expectations.
Data from the Labor Department said U.S. consumer price index crept up by 0.2% in October. The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 2.6% in October from 2.4% a month earlier. The rate of core consumer price growth was unchanged from the previous month at 3.3%, which was also in line with estimates.
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