European Stocks Close Broadly Lower On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed broadly lower on Wednesday as most of the latest data from the U.S. and some European countries have raised concerns about economic slowdown and the outlook for interest rates from the Federal Reserve and other central banks.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by payroll processor ADP showed private sector employment rose by 145,000 jobs in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 261,000 jobs in February.

Economists had expected private sector employment to advance by 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 242,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

A report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed growth in U.S. service sector activity slowed by much more than expected in the month of March.

The ISM said its services PMI slid to 51.2 in March from 55.1 in February. Economists had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to 54.5.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.16%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.37%, Germany's DAX drifted down 0.53% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.39% down, while Switzerland's SMI gained 0.38%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Turkiye ended weak.

Belgium, Czech Republic, Portugal, Russia and Spain closed higher, while Greece ended flat.

In the UK market, United Utilities, AstraZeneca, Haleon, GSK, Admiral Group, Severn Trent, National Grid and Vodafone Group gained 2 to 3.4%.

RS Group tumbled more than 6%. CRH ended 5.5% down, while Kingfisher, Auto Trader Group, Rightmove, Ashtead Group, Weir Group, Persimmon, Antofagasta, B&M European Value Retail, ABRDN and Halma lost 2 to 4.1%.

In Paris, Legrand, Saint Gobain and Renault ended more than 4% down. Teleperformance, Schneider Electric, Kering, Michelin, Unibail Rodamco and Alstom lost 2 to 4%.

Orange climbed more than 2.5%. Essilor, Sanofi and Engie also ended notably higher.

In the German market, Daimler Truck Holding and Continental both shed more than 5%. Covestro, Zalando, HeidelbergCement, Infineon Technologies, Vonovia, Siemens, Mercedes Benz, Commerzbank and BMW lost 2 to 4%.

Deutsche Telekom gained nearly 3%. Sartorius, Beiersdorf, Siemens Healthineers, Merck, RWE, Bayer and Qiagen advanced 1 to 2.2%.

In economic news from Europe, results of the latest purchasing managers' survey by S&P Global showed Eurozone private sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in ten months in March underpinned by the pickup in manufacturing output and a strong upturn in services activity, thus diminishing fears of recession at the start of the year. The composite output index rose to 53.7 from 52.0 in February, results of

Germany's factory orders posted a faster than expected growth in February, growing by 4.8% on a monthly basis, data from Destatis showed. The rate also exceeded economists' forecast of 0.3%.

France's industrial production expanded more- than- expected in February after falling in the previous month, data from the statistical office Insee showed. Industrial production advanced 1.2% month-on-month in February, reversing a 1.4% fall in January,

The UK service sector expanded for the second month in a row in March as new business intakes grew the most in a year driven by greater confidence among clients in both domestic and foreign markets. The final Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply services Purchasing Managers' Index posted 52.9 in March, survey data from S&P Global revealed.