BRUSSELS, Feb 21 — European stocks closed weak on Thursday with quarterly earnings updates influencing investors’ moves, reported dpa-AFX news.
Worries about a trade war following US President Donald Trump’s persistent threats that his administration will levy 25 per cent tariffs on several goods imported into the United States, and lingering geopolitical tensions rendered the mood cautious.
Investors also digested the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent monetary policy meeting.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.2 per cent. The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 settled lower by 0.57 per cent and Germany’s DAX closed 0.53 per cent down, while France’s CAC 40 gained 0.15 per cent. Switzerland’s SMI edged up 0.07 per cent.
Other markets in Europe closed on a mixed note. Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway and Poland ended weak. Belgium and Ireland edged down slightly. Finland, Greece, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.
In economic news, Eurozone consumer confidence strengthened for a second straight month and at a faster than expected pace to its highest level in four months in February, suggesting that pessimism among households in the single currency bloc is easing despite the increasing threat of a trade tariff war.
The flash consumer confidence index rose to -13.6 from -14.2 in January, monthly survey data from the European Commission showed on Thursday. That surpassed the -14.0 reading economists had forecast.
Eurozone construction output remained flat at the end of the year, data from Eurostat showed. Construction output registered nil growth in December after expanding 0.6 per cent in November and 0.4 per cent in October.
On a yearly basis, construction output slid 0.1 per cent, in contrast to the 0.3 per cent increase in November.
UK manufacturers expect production to increase in the three months to May, the Industrial Trends Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed.
Data from Destatis showed Germany’s producer prices registered a slower growth in January, climbing up just 0.5 per cent on yearly basis, following a 0.8 per cent rise in December. Consumer goods and durable consumer goods prices rose at a faster pace of 3 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.
Likewise, prices for capital goods gained 1.9 per cent. On the other hand, intermediate goods prices fell 0.1 per cent. On a monthly basis, producer prices edged down 0.1 per cent, the same pace of decline as seen in December.
The minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting revealed officials want to see further progress on inflation before they consider resuming lowering interest rates. The minutes also reiterated officials believe a “careful approach” in considering additional adjustments to the stance of monetary policy is appropriate given the high degree of uncertainty. — Bernama-dpa-AFX
