LONDON: Europe’s main stock markets slid on Tuesday in the wake of regional economic data including news of higher British inflation — and as widespread Asian losses offset record-highs on Wall Street.
Around 1015 GMT, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 0.5 percent compared with the close on Monday.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 shed 1.3 percent and the Paris CAC 40 lost 1.0 percent.
The euro and pound were each lower against the dollar.
Investor confidence in Germany plummeted in July to the lowest level in nearly four years on concerns about the fallout for Europe’s biggest economy from the British vote to exit the European Union, a leading survey showed on Tuesday.
The investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute plunged by a bigger-than-expected 26 points to minus 6.8 points in July — the lowest level since November 2012, the think tank said in a statement.
“The Brexit vote has surprised the majority of financial market experts,” said ZEW president Achim Wambach.
“Uncertainty about the vote’s consequences for the German economy is largely responsible for the substantial decline in economic sentiment.”
Separate data showed Britain’s annual inflation rate rose last month from May, while it faces further gains as a weak pound caused by the Brexit vote raises import prices.
The 12-month Consumer Price Index rose by 0.5 percent in June, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
CPI had risen by 0.3 percent in the year to May, the ONS added.
“Sterling’s weakness means higher import prices, and this is expected to feed through to significantly higher inflation figures in the coming months,” said Ben Brettell, senior economist at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.
The pound slumped to 31-year lows against the dollar after Britain voted on June 23 to exit the European Union. The currency has since recovered slightly.
Elsewhere Tuesday, Asian stock markets mostly fell on profit-taking following a week-long rally — but Tokyo headed for a sixth straight gain as a weak yen boosted exporters, traders said. The rally in Japan’s export sector was enough to offset a more than 10-percent plunge in mobile giant Softbank, which was hammered after announcing a $32-billion deal Monday to buy British chip designer ARM Holdings.