Major stock markets in Europe closed little changed on Tuesday as rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East fuelled inflation concerns. Prospects of a rate hike by the European Central Bank this week contributed as well to the largely cautious mood in the markets.
Political uncertainty in Germany weighed as well on sentiment. In Germany, the far-right AfD achieved a historic win in a state election. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he is “deeply shocked” by the overwhelming AfD election win. “Not only did something change in Saxony-Anhalt yesterday but throughout all Germany. It will have repercussions, including on the international stage.”
Oil prices climbed higher after Iran threatened to retaliate against any new US attacks on its assets and Saudi-led coalition forces vowed a resolute response to a wave of attacks from Houthi rebels.
Brent Crude futures rose to $99.46 a barrel, hitting a six-week high earlier in the day, before paring gains and dropping down to around $98.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.05%. The UK’s FTSE 100 ended 0.1% down. Germany’s DAX closed almost unchanged from previous close, while France’s CAC 40 crept up 0.14%. Switzerland’s SMI finished with a loss of 1.55%.
Among other markets in Europe, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland and Spain ended weak.
Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkey closed higher, while Austria, Belgium and Netherlands ended flat.
In the UK market, miners Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American Plc climbed 4.7%, 4.2% and 2.7%, respectively. Rio Tinto advanced 1.3%.
Weir moved up 3.8%. Halma, Coca-Cola HBC, Vodafone Group, ICG, Croda International, Investec, Spirax Group, AutoTrader Group, Lion Finance, Standard Chartered, Scottish Mortgage and Airtel Africa gained 1%-3%.
Computacenter dropped 7.7%. Smith & Nephew drifted down 3.6%. JD Sports Fashion, Convatec Group, GSK, Burberry Group, Games Workshop, Kingfisher, Haleon, Next, AstraZeneca and Compass Group also ended notably lower.
In the German market, Fresenius, Rheinmetall, Volkswagen and Hochtief gained 2.3%-3.2%.
Porsche Automobil Holding, Bayer, Brenntag, BMW, BASF, Beiersdorf and Siemens climbed 1%-1.5%.
Infineon, Hannover RE, Munich RE, Heidelberg Materials, Continental, Fresenius Medical Care, Scout24, Mercedes-Benz, Zalando, Daimler Truck Holding and Deutsche Post ended sharp to moderately lower.
In the French market, Carrefour, Bureau Veritas and Danone gained 2%-2.5%. Air Liquide, Schneider Electric, Renault, Kering, Legrand, Airbus and L’Oréal also ended notably higher.
