European Markets Close Lower On Growth Worries

European stocks closed broadly lower on Wednesday with investors weighing the near term prospects for the markets amid high borrowing costs and slowing growth, and largely staying reluctant to make purchases.

A lack of positive triggers too contributed to the cautious undertone in the markets.

After China announced the re-opening of borders in a major shift of its epidemic response policies, several countries have announced safety measures like testing and medical scrutiny of passengers, coming from China and other countries where the virus is prevalent.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.13%. Germany's DAX ended 0.5% down and France's CAC 40 shed 0.61%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.32%. Switzerland's SMI drifted down 0.24%.

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

Poland closed higher, while Czech Republic, Greece and Spain ended flat.

In the UK market, Scottish Mortgage declined 4.4%. Airtel Africa, IAG, Tesco, Flutter Entertainment, GSK, Frasers Group, Coca-Cola HBC and Shell lost 0.7 to 1.6%.

Antofagasta rallied 2.75%. Fresnillo, JD Sports Fashion, Kingfisher, Persimmon, Burberry Group, HSBC, Experian, BAE Systems, Halma and 3I Group gained 1.2 to 2.2%.

In Paris, Alstom, Publicis Groupe, Engie, ArcelorMittal, Bouygues, WorldLine, STMicroElectronics, Essilor, Carrefour and Safran lost 1 to 1.4%.

In the German market, Infineon Technologies ended lower by about 1.7%. Daimler, HeidelbergCement, Henkel, Porsche Automobil, Linde, Siemens and Deutsche Bank also ended notably lower.

Sartorius surged 1.5%, while Qiagen, Vonovia, Brenntag, Merck, Covestro and Bayer posted moderate gains.

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