European Shares Lower

2026-06-03 07:29 By Joana Taborda 1 min. read

European stocks traded lower on Wednesday, with the STOXX 50 declining 0.4% and the STOXX 600 slipping 0.2%, as rising oil prices and renewed uncertainty in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment.

Concerns were also fueled by fresh tariffs announced by President Trump.

The Office of the US Trade Representative has proposed additional tariffs of up to 12.5% on 60 trading partners over their alleged failure to prohibit goods produced with forced labor, including the EU, China, and Japan.

Energy price-sensitive airlines came under pressure, with Lufthansa and Air France both falling around 1%.

Automakers were also lower, including Mercedes-Benz (-2.1%), and BMW (-2.4%).

In addition, the banking sector came under pressure, with stocks falling for HSBC Holdings (-1.2%), BBVA (-1%) and Intesa Sanpaolo (-0.9%).

In contrast, retail stocks outperformed, led by Inditex, whose shares jumped 4.6% after the company reported a 5.4% increase in Q1 profit.



News Stream
European Shares Lower
European stocks traded lower on Wednesday, with the STOXX 50 declining 0.4% and the STOXX 600 slipping 0.2%, as rising oil prices and renewed uncertainty in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment. Concerns were also fueled by fresh tariffs announced by President Trump. The Office of the US Trade Representative has proposed additional tariffs of up to 12.5% on 60 trading partners over their alleged failure to prohibit goods produced with forced labor, including the EU, China, and Japan. Energy price-sensitive airlines came under pressure, with Lufthansa and Air France both falling around 1%. Automakers were also lower, including Mercedes-Benz (-2.1%), and BMW (-2.4%). In addition, the banking sector came under pressure, with stocks falling for HSBC Holdings (-1.2%), BBVA (-1%) and Intesa Sanpaolo (-0.9%). In contrast, retail stocks outperformed, led by Inditex, whose shares jumped 4.6% after the company reported a 5.4% increase in Q1 profit.
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