European Stocks Close Lower On Growth Worries, Rising Tensions In Ukraine

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Tuesday as escalating tensions in Russia-Ukraine conflict, worries about growth and looming monetary tightening by central banks including the Federal Reserve, rendered the mood bearish.

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for global economic growth by nearly a full percentage point, citing "seismic waves" from Russia's invasion and the "clear and present danger" of inflation in many countries.

The pan European Stoxx 600 drifted down 0.77%, the U.K.'s FTSE ended 0.2% down, Germany's DAX edged down 0.07% and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.83%, while Switzerland's SMI tumbled 1.55%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Russia ended on a weak note.

Austria, Denmark and Spain edged down marginally, while Finland, Greece, Sweden and Turkey closed higher.

In the UK market, ICP ended 4.55% down. ITV, Informa, JD Sports Fashion, Rentokil, Intertek Group, Diageo, Croda International, ABRDN and RightMove lost 2 to 4%.

Smith & Nephew rallied 3.3%. Royal Mail, Ferguson, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Smurfit Kappa Group, Glencore, Shell and Tesco gained 1.5 to 3%.

In the French market, Teleperformance and Hermes International both ended lower by more than 3%. LO'real, Pernod Ricard and Veolia shed 2 to 2.8%. Airbus Group, Capgemini, Air Liquide and Essilor also ended notably lower.

Atos, Accor, Renault, Valeo, Societe Generale, Carrefour, STMicroElectronics and Bouygues gained 1.5 to 3%.

In Germany, Sartorius, Merck, Symrise, Deutsche Boerse, Qiagen and Brenntag lost 2 to 4.4%. Vonovia, Henkel, Bayer and Munich RE also posted sharp losses.

HelloFresh, Continental, Infineon Technologies and Volkswagen gained 3 to 4%. Covestro and BMW climbed 2.8% and 2.4%, respectively. HeidelbergCement, Adidas, Daimler and BASF also closed notably higher.