European Stocks Close Broadly Lower After Cautious Session

BRUSSELS, Nov 5 (Bernama-dpa-AFX) -- European stocks closed broadly lower on Monday, as investors largely stayed cautious and refrained from making big moves ahead of US Presidential election, and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, the German news agency (dpa) reported.

Markets continued to react to corporate earnings updates and economic data.

Markets expect the US central bank to cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) amid economic contradictions, following a supersized 50 bps move in September.

Also, the Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates by 25 bps when it meets on Thursday.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.33 per cent. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed down 0.56 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. The UK's FTSE 100 edged up 0.09 per cent, while Switzerland's SMI ended down 0.59 per cent.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Turkiye closed weak. Poland, Russia and Sweden ended modestly higher, and Austrial edged up marginally, while Greece settled flat.

In the UK market, Hiscox and Melrose Industries lost about 3 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively. Weir Group, Endeavour Mining, Centrica, BAE Systems, Fresnillo, Beazley, ICG, IHG, Rentokil Initial, Pershing Square Holdings and Intertek Group ended down 1 per cent to 2 per cent.

Natwest Group climbed 2.61 per cent and Smith (DS) gained 2.5 per cent. Frasers Group, Antofagasta, BT Group, Schroders, Barclays, HSBC Holdings, Tesco and BP gained from 1 per cent to 1.7 per cent.

Burberry Group shares rallied by 6 per cent following reports that Italy's Moncler could be considering making a bid for the luxury firm. In the German market, Vonovia, Fresenius, Rheinmetall, Puma, SAP and Bayer ended down by 1 per cent to 2.2 per cent. Symrise, Sartorius, BASF and Infineon also closed notably lower.

Porsche advanced 2.3 per cent. RWE gained about 1.55 per cent, while Qiagen and Fresenius Medical Care both ended higher by about 1.15 per cent.

In the French market, STMicroElectronics lost about 2.7 per cent after Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on the stock to "underweight" from "equal weight".

Schneider Electric lost more than 2 per cent after the French industrials giant ousted chief executive Peter Herweck with immediate effect, citing issues with his execution of the company's strategy. Dassault Systemes, Thales, Saint-Gobain, Accor, Capgemini, Stellantis and Sanofi closed down between 0.9 per cent and 2.1 per cent.

Essilor rallied by more than 3 per cent. Teleperformance gained nearly 2 per cent and Kering climbed by about 1.5 per cent. Credit Agricole, Carrefour, ArcelorMittal and Safran posted moderate gains.

In economic news, the euro area manufacturing downturn continued in October albeit at the slowest pace in five months, survey data published by S&P Global showed. The HCOB manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 46.0 in October from 45.0 in September. The flash score was 45.9. The score suggests that the sector posted its slowest fall since May.

Results of the closely watched Sentix Survey showed that investor confidence in the euro area strengthened for a second straight month in November amid a modest improvement in the economic data from Germany and optimism about the outcome of the presidential election in the US, while markets continue to look for some solid stimulus news from China.

The Sentix investor confidence index for the Eurozone rose to -12.8 from -13.8 in October, the behavioural research think tank said. Economists had forecast a score of -12.7. The current situation index of the survey climbed to -21.5 from -23.3 in the previous month. The expectations index was steady at -3.8 in November. 

-- BERNAMA-dpa/AFX