European stocks fell Tuesday, as advances for mining and travel shares weren’t enough to guide the market to a second consecutive win.
How markets are moving
The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +0.77% declined by 0.6% to end at 370.58, with the utility and telecom groups losing the most. But the basic materials and consumer-services sectors pushed higher. On Monday, the benchmark climbed 1.2%, the first win in three sessions.
Germany’s DAX 30 index DAX, +0.71% fell 0.7% to 12,196.50, and France’s CAC 40 index PX1, +0.77% moved down 0.6% to 5,109.24. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 UKX, +0.72% ended lower by 0.1% at 7,168.01.
The euro EURUSD, -0.0567% bought $1.2334, down from $1.2393 late Monday in New York.
What’s driving the market
The volatility that is shoved major stocks markets into correction territory crept back into the European markets, indicating that investors are still wrestling with concerns about rising inflation and higher bond yields.
U.S. stocks climbed Monday, but that was followed up in Asia with a loss for Japan’s Nikkei Average NIK, -0.43% while Hong Kong stocks HSI, +2.27% surged 1.3%. U.S. stocks fell at the open, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.16% more than 150 points intraday.
But gains for metals prices such as copper HGH8, -0.38% and gold GCJ8, +0.27% helped lift up shares of European-listed mining companies. Metals prices denominated in dollars found strength on the back of a softening in the U.S. dollar DXY, -0.05% .
What strategists are saying
“European markets are failing to follow through on yesterday’s bounce and a decent performance overnight in Asia,” said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, in a note. “A lack of volume yesterday on Wall Street suggests there is not a huge amount of interest in this recovery just yet and may be a signal that this is not a reversal in a secondary downtrend.”
Stock movers
Kering SA shares KER, +2.33% fell 4% even as the French parent of luxury goods maker Gucci posted net profit for 2017 that more than doubled from a year earlier, to 1.79 billion euros ($2.20 billion).
TUI AG TUI, -3.31% advanced 1.2% after the vacation services company posted a narrower net loss of 99.6 million euros ($112.7 million) for the first quarter and backed its full-year guidance
In the mining group, Anglo American PLC AAL, +1.35% rose 1.7% and Glencore PLC GLEN, +0.35% moved up 2.5%. But Swedish mining and smelting company Boliden BOL, +1.32% ended 1.1% following a ratings downgrade to sell from neutral at UBS.
Economic data
In the U.K., annual inflation remained at 3% in January, compared with estimated reading of 2.9%. Inflation is well above the Bank of England’s target of 2%.
