(RTTNews) – European stocks closed weak on Wednesday as oil prices swung back into positive territory after five successive days of losses. Uncertainty about reopening of the Strait of Hormuz appeared to have contributed to the reversal in trend.
After U.S. President Donald Trump’s strong message at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, said today that Tehran would never “bend at the knee” in response to external pressure and blamed the US and Israel for global instability.
Brent crude futures, which had tumbled to $94.08 a barrel earlier in the day, recovered to over $101 a barrel later on.
Investors digested regional PMI data. While data showed strong growth in Germany and France’s services sector activity, UK’s services sector activity weakened in the month of September.
The pan European Stoxx 600 shed 0.44%. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 ended lower by 0.66% and 0.39%, respectively. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.03%, while Switzerland’s SMI settled 0.23% down.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden closed weak.
Iceland, Russia and Türkiye ended higher.
In the UK market, miners were among the notable losers. Fresnillo, Endeavour Mining and Antofagasta shed 3.5%, 2.6% and 2.5%, respectively. Anglo American Plc drifted lower by nearly 2%. Glencore bucked the trend and moved up 1.3%.
JD Sports Fashion closed 5.7% down. AutoTrader Group and IG Group Holdings ended down by 3.3% and 3.1%, respectively. Spirax Group, Tesco, Smith & Nephew and Severn Trent lost 2%-2.25%.
Natwest Group, AstraZeneca, St. James’s Place, Barratt Redrow, Next, Land Securities, British Land and United Utilities also ended sharply lower.
Energy stocks BP and Shell moved up 2.75% and 2%, respectively, riding on higher oil prices. Relx, Rentokil Initial, Ithaca Energy, Babcock International, LSEG, Intercontinental Hotels Group, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Lion Finance, The Sage Group and Burberry Group also closed with strong gains.
In the German market, Scout24 ended more than 5% down. Porsche Automobil Holding, Allianz, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, BMW, Deutsche Bank, Infineon, Deutsche Post, Brenntag, Adidas, Hochtief, Daimler Truck Holding and Gea Group also ended notably lower.
Rheinmetall climbed more than 3.5%. SAP moved up 2.3%, while MTU Aero Engines and Fresenius ended up by 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively.
In the French market, Eurofins Scientific ended down by 3.5%. Unibail Rodamco, Renault, Orange, L’Oreal, Bureau Veritas and Kering lost 2%-2.6%.
Stellantis, Pernod Ricard, Sanofi, Legrand, AXA, Carrefour, Accor, LVMH, Vinci, Edenred and BNP Paribas also closed weak.
Teleperformance jumped more than 5%. EssilorLuxottica surged 3.75%. TotalEnergies moved up 1.8%, while STMicroelectronics, Safran, Thales and Dassault Systemes gained 1%-1.25%.
Flash survey data published by S&P Global revealed Germany’s private sector expanded at the fastest pace in 11 months in September, reflecting a renewed increase in activity across the service sector.
The composite output index climbed to 53.8 in September from 51.8 in August. This was the highest reading since last October. Economists had forecast the index to remain stable at 51.8.
At 52.9, the services Purchasing Managers’ Index hit a 7-month high from 49.7 in the previous month. The score was forecast to rise to 49.9. The factory PMI dropped to 53.8 from 54.3 a month ago and also remained below forecast of 54.1.
France’s headline composite output index posted 51.2 in September, up from 48.5 in August. The services Purchasing Managers’ Index hit a 10-month high of 51.4 compared to 48.0 in August. Meanwhile, the factory PMI dropped to 50.3 from 51.1.
Eurozone Sep Flash Composite Output Index came in at 53.1, compared with 52.0 in August.
Flash survey data from S&P Global showed the UK Composite PMI eased to 51.7 in September from 52.5 in the previous month, slightly under market expectations of 52.0. The Services sector PMI came in at 51.7 for September, down from 52.5 in August, while the Manufacturing PMI score for September was 51.4, down from 52.1 a month earlier.