ROME: Stocks across Europe fell Tuesday, with declines among commodity producers helping to pull the region’s benchmark away from its best level since late August.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.66% fell 0.5% to 362.49, led by pullbacks in oil and gas SXEP, -1.41% and basic materials SXPP, -1.67% shares. Industrials were also in the red, paced by a 3.2% drop in Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA SGO, -3.14% The French construction-materials company was downgraded to sell from neutral at UBS, which said some risks from emerging markets and the U.S. will potentially pressure the company in the coming quarters.
On the country indexes, Germany’s DAX 30 DAX, -0.56% dropped 0.7% to 10,091.35, and France’s CAC 40 PX1, -0.82% fell 1% to 4,656.98. The FTSE 100 UKX, -0.43% lost 0.5% to 6,322.60.
The Stoxx 600 was set to close lower for the first time in four sessions. On Monday, it closed at 364.25, the best settlement since Aug. 20, according to FactSet data.
Commodity shares on Tuesday extended losses from Monday, when data showed economic activity in China slowed to its lowest rate since 2009. Oil prices CLX5, +0.44% on Monday fell to their lowest in more than two weeks on concerns about weaker demand from China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer. Oil prices edged higher Tuesday, but oil stocks remained in the red. Tullow Oil PLC TLW, -5.99% fell 5.9%, Spain’s Repsol SA REP, -1.84% fell 1.9% and BP PLC BP., -1.27% BP, -2.57% gave up 1.1%.
Steel and mining producer ArcelorMittal MT, -2.85% MT, -3.95% and steel tube supplier Tenaris SA TEN, -1.92% were down 3.4% and 1.9%, respectively. The steel industry was in focus Tuesday following reports that India’s Tata Steel 500470, -1.82% TATLY, -14.33% was set to say it’s laying off up to 1,200 workers in the U.K.
While European steel prices have outperformed those in other regions this year, the European steel sector risks “continuing to disappoint as steel prices are dragged lower by discounted imports and new domestic capacity growth,” said Jefferies in a Tuesday research note.
Investors will be eager to hear what the European Central Bank may say about sluggish conditions in the commodities space as well as slowing in China when its monetary policy decision is released Thursday.
