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Europe stocks close lower as investors weigh record UK wage growth, China data miss; M&S up 7%

European markets set to open higher as investors weigh China data
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European markets fell Tuesday as investors weighed wage growth figures from the U.K. and disappointing data from China.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.9% lower, with most sectors in negative territory. Basic resources slid 1.5% as banks and utilities both fell 1.2%.

Retail stocks were 0.5% higher, boosted by a 7.5% rise in shares of British department store chain Marks & Spencer, which raised its profit outlook in results published Tuesday.

Median monthly salaries in the U.K., excluding bonuses, increased 7.8% in July from the same period last year, according to early estimates by the Office for National Statistics. The figure is the largest annual growth rate since comparable records began in 2001, the ONS said.

Russia's central bank hiked interest rates by 350 basis points to 12% at an emergency meeting, as Moscow looks to steady the rapid plummet of the country's currency.

China reported data for July that broadly missed expectations overnight, with retail sales and industrial production both increasing below expectations. Fixed asset investment also rose at a slower rate than expected, and urban unemployment increased.

China's central bank also announced rate cuts for the second time in three months.

Asia-Pacific markets finished mixed, while U.S. stocks opened lower as sentiment around China weighed.

Europe stocks close lower

Europe's benchmark Stoxx 600 index provisionally closed the session 0.95% lower Tuesday, with most sectors and all major bourses in the red.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1.57% after data showed wages grew at a record rate. France's CAC 40 was 1.1% lower as Germany's DAX fell 0.8%.

— Jenni Reid

Embracer Group down 5%

Swedish video games group Embracer posted the biggest decline among Stoxx 600 stocks in late trade, down 5% at 4 p.m. London time.

News website Axios on Monday reported that the company's partner in a $2 billion gaming deal that collapsed in the spring had been the Saudi government-funded Savvy Games Group. CNBC has not independently verified the report.

Shares of the company plunged in May after it said it would not meet prior full-year guidance due to "not closing the transformative partnership- and licensing deals" it announced in March.

— Jenni Reid

Fitch warns it may be forced to downgrade dozens of U.S. banks

Fitch Ratings analyst warned that the U.S. banking industry has inched closer to another source of turbulence — the risk of sweeping rating downgrades on dozens of U.S. banks that could even include the likes of JPMorgan Chase.

The ratings agency cut its assessment of the industry's health in June.

Another one-notch downgrade of the industry's score, to A+ from AA-, would force Fitch to reevaluate ratings on each of the more than 70 U.S. banks it covers, Chris Wolfe told CNBC in an exclusive interview.

Read the full story here.

— Hugh Son

U.S. stocks open lower Tuesday

U.S. stocks began Tuesday's trading session lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 125 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also shed 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim

U.S. retail sales exceed expectations

Retail sales data for July came in higher than expected in a sign of continued consumer strength.

The indicator of food service and retail sales grew by 0.7% in July from last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipated a relatively modest 0.4% month-over-month increase.

Excluding automotives, sales grew by 1%. That notably exceeded economists' forecast of 0.4%.

— Alex Harring

We are trying to democratize diamonds, Pandora CEO says

Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik discusses the company's results and the jewelry maker's plans to enter the Chinese market.

There hasn’t been much volatility in commodity prices, says analyst

John Baffes of the World Bank discusses commodity prices and risks.

German investor sentiment unexpectedly higher in August

German investors are feeling more positive about the economy than expected, according to research by the ZEW economic research institute.

The institute rates sentiment at minus 12.3 points, a 2.4-point improvement on July's figure. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected sentiment to remain unchanged, with a reading of 14.7. The number is still in negative territory, suggesting a generally downbeat mood in Europe.

The index is based on how optimistic investors are about the upcoming six months by speaking to up to 300 financial and economic analysts about the economy and markets across the euro zone, the U.K., Japan and the United States.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

UK grocery inflation down sharply to 12.7%, Kantar finds

U.K. grocery price inflation dropped by 2.2 percentage points to 12.7% in the four weeks to Aug. 6, according to Kantar data.

"Prices are still up year-on-year across every supermarket shelf, but consumers will have been relieved to see the cost of some staple goods starting to edge down compared with earlier in 2023," said Fraser McKevitt, head of Kantar's retail and consumer insight, worldpanel division, U.K.

He noted that the latest slowdown marked the second sharpest monthly fall since it began monitoring grocery inflation in 2008.

The research company found that large chain supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury's outperformed the market with 9.5% and 9.3% of sales growth over the 12 weeks to Aug. 6. Discount seller Aldi remained the fastest-growing retailer for the fourth time in row, Kantar estimated.

Ruxandra Iordache

Tecan up 9% on confirmed 2023 outlook; net profit falls

Shares of Tecan were up 9.4% in morning trade after the Swiss health-care innovation company confirmed its 2023 outlook.

Tecan posted first-half net profit of 53.2 million Swiss francs ($60.7 million), a drop from 65.66 million francs in the previous year, but revenue grew 6.8% in local currencies on an underlying basis when excluding knock-on Covid-19 effects and reduced material cost pass-through.

Tecan confirmed its full-year 2023 outlook and forecast sales would increase in the low to mid single-digit percentage range in local currencies.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Russian central bank jacks up interest rates to 12%

Russia's central bank on Tuesday hiked interest rates by 350 basis points to 12% at an emergency meeting, as Moscow looks to halt a rapid depreciation of the country's ruble currency.

The ruble slumped near 102 to the dollar on Monday, as President Vladimir Putin's economic advisor, Maxim Oreshkin, penned an op-ed in Russian state-owned Tass news agency that blamed the plunging currency and the acceleration of inflation on "loose monetary policy."

You can read the full story here.

— Elliot Smith

Marks & Spencer up 8% on unscheduled performance update

Shares of Marks & Spencer were up more than 8% in early trading after the group gave an unscheduled update showing strong performance, and upgraded its guidance for the year.

Food sales led growth in the first 19 weeks of the year, up more than 11%, while clothing and home sales grew more than 6%.

There are still "considerable uncertainties" about the economic outlook, the company said in a statement, but it expects profit growth for the year as the interim results show "significant improvement" compared with previous expectations.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

UK median wage up 7.8% in July; unemployment rises unexpectedly

Median monthly salaries in the U.K., excluding bonuses, increased 7.8% in July from the same period last year, according to early estimates by the Office for National Statistics.

The figure is the largest annual growth rate since comparable records began in 2001, the ONS said.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, unexpectedly rose from 4% to 4.2%, the highest since the three-month period to October 2021.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

CNBC Pro: Barclays names global stocks that are 'most insulated as inflation falls' – and gives two 60% upside

Barclays has identified several European stocks that could benefit from a falling inflation environment.

The investment bank said its "disinflation winners" stock picks are particularly adept at operating in a disinflationary environment, with at least two picks expected to rise by more than 60% over the next 12 months.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

China's July industrial output and retail sales miss expectations

China's industrial production and retail sales figures for July both missed expectations, adding to the weak batch of economic data seen by the country.

Industrial production increased by 3.7% year on year, missing the 4.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters. On a year to date basis, industrial production increased by 3.8% year-on-year.

Separately, retail sales in China grew 2.5% year-on-year, with total retail sales reaching 3.68 trillion yuan in July, lesser than the 4.5% growth rate expected by the Reuters poll.

— Lim Hui Jie

CNBC Pro: 'China has disappointed': These are the top markets and stocks to invest in, according to the pros

Investors have been fleeing China markets in favor of others for much of this year, fearing its weak economic recovery.

Here are some alternatives to China and the stocks to invest in, according to the pros, who also discuss whether Chinese stocks will make a comeback.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are poised to open higher, according to IG data. Britain's FTSE is expected to move 23 points higher to 7,522, Germany's DAX 51 points to 15,944, France's CAC 26 points to 7,365, and Italy's MIB 53 points to 28,575.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

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