European Daily Market Review

European markets were mixed and little changed for the most part as investors took a pause ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision in the U.S., due out later today.

By the end of the session the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600, the broadest measure of European equities, was nearly unchanged with a slight gain of just 0.02%. Germany’s DAX ended the day 0.2% higher but the CAC 40 in France underperformed as it declined by 0.5%. In Italy the FTSE MiB added 0.1%, and in Spain the IBEX 35 outperformed as it rose by 0.5%.

Chemical manufacturers were in the spotlight in Germany with the best performers in Germany’s DAX being chemical manufacturers BASF with a gain of 2.5% and Covestro with a 2.2% advance. At the other end of the index adhesive and consumer goods firm Henkel saw its shares drop by 2.2%, while integrated arms manufacturer Rheinmetall suffered a 2.1% loss.

Over on the CAC 40 in France the best performance of the day came from management consulting firm Teleperformance, with shares finishing 2.7% higher. Materials and tire manufacturer Michelin also outperformed with a gain of 1.8%. Luxury goods manufacturer Kering saw its shares tumble 11.9% lower after warning of sharply lower revenue from its Gucci brand due to declining sales in Asia.

London’s FTSE finished nearly unchanged as it edged lower by a scant 0.01%. That came after U.K. inflation unexpectedly declined more than expected, hitting its lowest rate since 2021. At the top of the index was financial services provider St. James Place PLC with a gain of 4.5%. That gain was evenly offset by the 4.5% loss from the worst performer in the index, which was multinational insurance provider Prudential PLC.