European shares closed lower on Tuesday (Apr 30) weighed by a bleak raft of earnings reports from the region’s top car makers, while investors also assessed a possible merger between two Spanish banks and data that signaled improving economic fundamentals.

The continent-wide Stoxx 600 stocks index slipped 0.7 per cent to 504.89, bogged down by a 4.3 per cent loss in the automobile sector, the sector’s biggest drop since September 2022.

Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis tumbled between 4 and 10 per cent after posting lower sales and first-quarter revenue as they geared up to launch new models, faced higher costs and were hit by weaker demand for new cars.

On the mergers and acquisitions front, BBVA dropped 6.6 per cent after the currency union’s second biggest lender and smaller rival Sabadell said they started negotiations to explore a possible merger. Sabadell’s shares rose 3.5 per cent on the news.

Meanwhile, data showed the eurozone economy rebounded in the first quarter from a mild recession as Germany returned to growth, while inflation steadied, reinforcing the case for a June interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.

“The continued modest recovery is putting the euro zone on track for a better-than-expected growth rate for 2024,” said Bert Colijn, senior eurozone economist at ING Bank.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

“With inflation remaining relatively benign at the moment and unemployment at record lows, the economic environment in the eurozone is looking up.”

The benchmark Stoxx index hit a volatile patch in April and is trading nearly 14 per cent away from its record high. It logged its first monthly decline in six, knocked down by record-high interest rates, Middle East tensions and uncertainty about the ECB monetary policy outlook.

Miners and energy are on track to become the top sectoral performers this month, while financial services and insurers are the worst hit.

On the day, uncertainties around the path for US monetary policy following data that showed an increase in US first-quarter labour costs caused eurozone yields to tick higher, which weighed on equities.

Among others, HSBC rose 4.1 per cent to top the blue chips Stoxx50 index, after the Asia-focused lender announced its quarterly results, a share buyback plan and chief executive Noel Quinn’s surprise retirement.

Vonovia climbed 3.9 per cent and outperformed German’s Dax after the country’s largest real estate group’s return to profit in the first quarter.

Finnish engineering group Cargotec jumped 16.3 per cent to the top of the Stoxx 600 after first-quarter results.

Satellite company SES shed 14 per cent on agreeing to buy all shares of Intelsat for about US$3.1 billion and reporting first-quarter results. REUTERS