In Thursday trading, European stock markets witnessed a downward trend as the Stoxx Europe 600 dropped by 1%. The Swiss Market Index lost 0.91%, France's CAC experienced a decline of 1.32%, the FTSE in London fell by 0.1%, and Germany's DAX decreased by 0.9%. This downturn reflects a challenging economic environment as Eurozone business activity entered contraction territory in September for the first time since February.
The seasonally adjusted HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index reported a decline to 49.6, down from a three-month high of 51.0 in August, signaling a simultaneous contraction in Germany, France, and Italy's monthly business activities for the first time in 2024. Additionally, Eurozone industrial producer prices experienced a modest increase of 0.6% in August, while those in the broader European Union rose by 0.4% from July—according to preliminary estimates released by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.
However, a year-on-year comparison reveals significant decreases, with industrial producer prices down 2.3% in the euro area and 2.1% in the EU. In terms of real estate, Eurostat reported a 1.3% increase in house prices across the euro area and an impressive 2.9% rise in the EU's second quarter, relative to the same quarter the prior year.
When compared to the previous quarter, house prices saw a rise of 1.8% in the euro area and 1.9% in the EU. Turning our attention to Switzerland, the consumer price index showed a slight decline of 0.3% in September compared to the previous month, yet marking an annual increase of 0.8%, as reported by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. In specific corporate news, shares of Stellantis took a hit, closing at 4% lower in Paris's CAC after Barclays analysts downgraded the European automaker's stock from overweight to equal weight.
The company disclosed a notable 20% year-over-year drop in Q3 sales. Other automotive stocks in Europe also faced declines during Thursday's trading. Shares of Porsche and Continental fell by 3.9% and 3.3% respectively on the DAX, while Volkswagen and BMW both dropped by 1.6%. In Paris, shares of Renault and tire maker Michelin slid down by 2.1% and 1.8%, respectively. In related news, TotalEnergies' Chief Financial Officer, Jean-Pierre Sbraire, indicated the potential for restructuring and a reduction of North Sea operations should the UK government impose a higher windfall tax on oil and gas producers. Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice has reportedly extended its investigation into alleged price-fixing relating to German software firm SAP and software reseller Carahsoft Technology.
As indicated in new court filings reported by Bloomberg, shares of SAP ended the day down 1.5% in Frankfurt after failing to respond to comments from MT Newswires. Finally, Spanish biopharmaceutical company Grifols announced Thursday that its GigaGen unit secured a contract valued at up to $135.2 million from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
This contract aims to develop a recombinant polyclonal antibody therapy targeting botulinum neurotoxins..