European stock markets faced a downturn in trading on Wednesday. In London, the FTSE closed down by 0.07%, the DAX in Germany saw a significant retreat of 1.14%, while France's CAC slipped 0.51%. The Stoxx Europe 600 index experienced a drop of 0.59%, and the Swiss Market Index fell by 0.16%. Recent data revealed a 0.6% month-over-month decrease and a 3.4% year-over-year decline in industrial producer prices for the euro area in September, based on initial estimates released by Eurostat.
In the private sector, business activity in the euro area stagnated in October. The results indicate that contraction in the two largest economies, Germany and France, offset growth in other regions. The final HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index registered at 50 for October, a modest increase from September’s 49.6.
This figure reflects that there was no change in private sector output levels compared to the previous month, while the final PMI for services edged up to 51.6 from 51.4. In corporate developments, Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical firm, announced an increase in its Q3 earnings and net sales. Siemens Healthineers, a medical technology company from Germany, was among the DAX gainers, reporting a year-over-year rise in both net income and revenue for fiscal 2024.
However, major auto companies, including Mercedes Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, and Porsche, ranked as some of the largest decliners on the German stock exchange. BMW Group disclosed that its Q3 profit attributable to shareholders plummeted to 389 million euros ($417.5 million) from 2.68 billion euros, with revenue dropping to 32.41 billion euros from 38.46 billion euros compared to the same period last year.
In France, Credit Agricole led decliners on the CAC after the financial institution revealed a decrease in both Q3 net income and revenue year over year. On the FTSE, Persimmon ranked as the leading decliner, reporting 1,416 new home completions in Q3, a slight drop from 1,439 homes completed during the same quarter last year..