ROME: European stocks closed lower Tuesday as a drop in oil prices and mixed corporate earnings handing the market its second straight losing session.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -1.07% finished down 1.1% at 371.88 after declining 0.4% on Monday. The oil-and-gas SXEP, -2.37% and basic-materials sectors SXPP, -3.05% helped lead the way lower.
Oil shares on Tuesday fell as crude prices CLZ5, +0.05% slumped about 2% to trade recently below $43 a barrel. Prices were under pressure before the release of U.S. inventory figures later Tuesday. An increase in weekly stockpiles would underscore worries about persistent expansion in supply and weakening demand for oil.
In the energy group, oil producer OMV AG OMV, -5.34% finished 5.9% lower, Tullow Oil PLC TLW, -4.65% fell 4.7% and Spain’s Repsol SA REP, -3.90% gave up 3.9%
BP PLC BP., -1.14% BP, -0.66% shares initially managed to rise after the oil major’s earnings report, but they later erased gains and closed down 1.1%. BP’s third-quarter replacement cost profit of $1.23 billion came in better than analyst expectations of $1.2 billion. But weak oil prices prompted BP to say its capital expenditure will decline for the year.
BP’s retreat drove the U.K.’s FTSE 100 UKX, -0.81% lower. The commodities-heavy index fell 0.8% to end at 6,365.27.
U.K. stocks remained down after a preliminary estimate for the country’s third-quarter growth came in slightly below expectations. Quarter-over-growth of 0.5% was under the 0.6% rise expected in a FactSet poll of analysts. Year-over-year growth of 2.3% skirted below the expected reading of 2.4%.
In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 DAX, -1.01% shed 1% to close at 10,692.19. In Paris, the CAC 40 PX1, -1.02% also fell 1%, finishing at 4,847.07.
