Stocks in Europe Close with Losses

European Markets Close Mixed, Automotive Sector Shines

European markets closed with a mixed bag of results on Thursday, as the economic sentiment indicator in the Euro Area edged down 0.5 points to 95.2 in August. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.2%, reflecting the overall trend.

In the automotive sector, there were notable gains. The French market saw Renault rally 3.7%, while automotive supplier Continental climbed 1.7% after announcing the sale of its ContiTech business area Original Equipment Solutions to Regent. In the German market, shares of Siemens, Sartorius, Siemens Energy, and Infineon gained 1 to 1.7%.

The rebound in new car sales in Europe was evident, with overall demand for cars in Germany growing 11.1%. This growth was also observed in Spain, where car registrations surged by 17.1%. However, France and Italy registered a 7.7% decrease and 5.1% drop in car registrations, respectively.

The European Union reported a 7.4% year-on-year increase in car registrations in July, while hybrid-electric car sales increased by 14.3% and battery-electric car sales showed an annual rise of 39.1%. Despite this growth, Finland's electrification efforts are still modest compared to leading European economies such as Norway, where electric vehicle registrations reached 97% of new cars in August.

The U.K. markets saw mixed results, with the FTSE 100 closing 0.42% down, but Anglo American Plc and JD Sports Fashion closing higher by about 3% and 2.8%, respectively. Aviva ended down 3.1% in the U.K. market.

In the corporate sector, Qiagen lost about 4.25%, while Pernod Ricard climbed nearly 1.5% after posting a smaller-than-expected 3% fall in annual organic revenue. The company also reported group share of net profit of 1.626 billion euros for the full year, 10% higher than 1.476 billion euros in the previous year. Shares of electrolysis specialist Thyssenkrupp Nucera jumped nearly 3% after being selected as the preferred supplier of 1.4 GW electrolyzers for the Mid-West Green Iron project.

Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.1%, and among other European markets, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Portugal ended higher. However, Russia, Sweden, and Turkiye ended flat.

Europe's new car sales rebounded in July, but the economic sentiment indicator in the Euro Area showed a slight decrease. The future of the European markets will depend on various factors, including ongoing economic recovery and policy decisions.