markets closed lower

London — European markets closed weak on Tuesday, weighed down by concerns about valuations of tech stocks amid scepticism over spending in AI infrastructure, and fears of possible interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Weak regional PMI data hurt as well.

Also, despite the reported “encouraging progress” in peace efforts, conflicting reports on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz rendered the mood cautious.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.9%. The UK’s FTSE 100 shed 0.52%, Germany’s DAX closed 1.05% down, and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.7%, while Switzerland’s SMI bucked the trend and ended 0.45% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed sharp to moderately lower.

Norway edged down marginally, while Belgium, the Czech Republic and Denmark ended higher.

In the UK market, mining stocks tumbled, contributing substantially to the weak close. Antofagasta, Fresnillo, Anglo American, and Glencore lost 4.2%-5.5%. Rio Tinto and Endeavour Mining closed lower by 3.3% and 3.2%, respectively.

Polar Capital Technology Trust, Scottish Mortgage, Burberry Group, Weir Group, Spirax Group, IMI, Pershing Square Holdings, Persimmon, Halma, F&C Investment Trust, Rolls-Royce Holdings, ICG, and Tesco also ended with sharp losses.

markets closed lower

Bunzl moved up 5.6% after the company raised its annual revenue growth outlook.

British American Tobacco climbed 3.1%. Diageo, BT Group, AstraZeneca, Babcock International, Admiral Group, Entain, GSK, Metlen Energy & Metals, Coca-Cola HBC, Marks & Spencer, Unilever, and LSEG also closed notably higher.

In the German market, Infineon fell more than 6%.

Siemens Energy ended nearly 4% down. Volkswagen, Vonovia, and Siemens lost 2.4%-3%. Adidas, Deutsche Bank, Porsche Automobil Holding, Continental, Deutsche Post, and Rheinmetall also closed on a weak note.

SAP, Qiagen, Merck, Deutsche Boerse, Scout24, Bayer, Zalando, and Fresenius closed with impressive gains.

In the French market, STMicroelectronics tanked 9%. Stellantis plunged 6.6%, while Legrand, Schneider Electric, and Renault lost 4.3%-4.7%.

markets closed lower

Michelin, Société Générale, Edenred, Kering, Vinci, Saint Gobain, Hermes International, and Engie shed 0.8%-2%.

Eurofins Scientific climbed about 2.7%. Dassault Systemes, Airbus, Pernod Ricard, Danone, Sanofi, Accor, and Teleperformance moved up 1%-2.3%.

In economic news, the S&P Global Flash Germany Composite PMI fell to 48 in June 2026 from 48.8 in May, missing market expectations of 49.9. The reading signalled a third consecutive month of contraction in private-sector activity and the steepest decline since December 2024.

Germany’s Services PMI fell to a 43-month low of 46.8 from 48.1. The manufacturing output expanded at a slightly faster pace with the PMI score coming in at 50.8, up from 50.4 a month earlier.

Survey results from the statistical office INSEE showed confidence among French manufacturers decreased in June and returned to its long-term average. The manufacturing confidence index dropped to 100 in June from 100.2 in May. The score was forecast to fall to 101.

markets closed lower

Data from S&P Global showed France’s flash Composite PMI rose to 47.6 in June from 44.9 in May, surpassing market expectations of 46, driven by a return to growth in manufacturing activity and a softer contraction in the services sector.

The manufacturing PMI for June came in at 50.7, up from 49.7 in May, while the Services PMI moved up 47.4 from 44.3%.

According to a flash estimate, the S&P Global UK Composite PMI eased to 49.4 in June from 49.7 in May, a second month of contraction following 11 months of expansion in the British private sector activity. The PMI was expected to come in at 50.6.

The Services PMI dropped to 48.7 in June from 49.3 a month earlier, while the Manufacturing PMI score came in at 53.6 for June, up from 52.2 in May.

The euro area private sector contracted at a slower pace in June as services activity posted a slower fall while manufacturing output continued to grow moderately, flash survey results from S&P Global showed.

The flash composite output index registered 49.5 in June, up from 48.5 in the previous month. The score was above economists’ forecast of 49.1.

Notes from APS Radio News

According to a number of analysts, long-term patterns have contributed and continue to contribute to inflation.

During the period, which started in early March 2020, to the autumn of 2022, the Federal Reserve added about $4.6 trillion to its holdings, in effect, infusing into the economy that amount of currency.

And it did so at a comparatively high velocity.

During that period, also, lockdowns caused shortages of various goods and services.

The combination of shortages & supply chain problems and instances of quantitative easing, a monetary policy implemented by a number of the world’s central banks during that time, led to rates of inflation not seen since the early 1980’s.

The European Central Bank was one of the central banks that implemented such monetary policies.

The war in Ukraine, a war that has seen sanctions imposed against Russia, contributed to shortages experienced.

US and Israeli warfare waged against Iran and blockades have led to substantial increases in the price of oil