The primary European stock exchanges displayed late support, resulting in a mixed closure on Tuesday. This came after initial declines due to investor concerns regarding potential inflationary impacts tied to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's suggested tariff strategies.
Investor confidence was additionally shaken as the risk premium required by investors to hold French bonds climbed to its highest point since 2012. This was amid ongoing fiscal and political instability, and anxiety about the prospects of the new government.
By the end of the trading day, Germany's DAX index fell by 34.23 points or 0.18 percent, closing at 19,261.75. Meanwhile, London's FTSE ascended by 16.14 points or 0.20 percent, reaching 8,274.75, and the CAC 40 in France declined by 51.48 points or 0.72 percent, ending at 7,143.
In Germany, Vonovia saw a rise of 2.93 percent. Conversely, Zalando fell by 2.05 percent, Daimler Truck Holding climbed 1.50 percent, while Infineon Technologies and E.ON SE decreased by 1.41 percent and 1.00 percent, respectively. Deutsche Bank slipped by 0.63 percent, Heidelberg Materials declined by 0.55 percent, whereas Deutsche Telekom gained 0.44 percent and Deutsche Post decreased by 0.38 percent.
In London's market, Airtel Africa increased significantly by 5.16 percent, though Entain dropped 2.61 percent. Tesco saw a rally of 2.14 percent, Rightmove rose 1.63 percent, and Haleon increased by 1.42 percent. Rentokil decreased by 1.07 percent, whereas Compass Group advanced 0.97 percent. Shell posted a loss of 0.65 percent, but Experian grew by 0.61 percent. M&G and Vodafone altered respectively by -0.58 percent and +0.45 percent; Rolls-Royce saw a minor downturn of 0.44 percent.
In France's market scenario, Societe Generale dropped sharply by 3.48 percent, with Worldline seeing a decline of 3.20 percent. Airbus, however, experienced a jump of 1.93 percent, while Vinci fell by 1.74 percent. Compagnie de Saint-Gobain decreased by 1.53 percent, Credit Agricole by 1.34 percent, and BNP Paribas by 1.19 percent. Yet, Carrefour advanced 1.14 percent, Sanofi increased 0.64 percent, and Danone was up by 0.40 percent.
Economically, France's consumer confidence declined further in November to its lowest in five months, according to the latest monthly survey from the statistical office INSEE. The consumer sentiment index decreased to 90 in November from 93 in October.
Germany's consumer confidence is projected to deteriorate sharply by year-end, with income expectations falling to a nine-month low amid rising recession concerns. The survey by GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions reported the consumer sentiment index plummeting to -23.3 in December from a revised -18.4 in November.
In Austria, the contraction in the manufacturing sector lessened in November, attributable to slower declines in output and new orders, as revealed by survey results from S&P Global. The UniCredit Bank Austria Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index increased to a six-month high of 44.5 in November, up from 42.0 in October.