CAC 40 INDEX

European Markets Close Lower as Deliveroo Plunges in Debut, Euro Zone Inflation Jumps

Kiran Ridley | Getty Images News | Getty Images
  • The Stoxx 600 ended the session down by 0.2%, with banks falling 1.2% to lead losses.
  • British food delivery firm Deliveroo as much as 30% on its first day of trading Wednesday.
  • Investors will also be keeping an eye on details of President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan.

European stocks closed lower Wednesday, as reacted to Deliveroo's disappointing stock market debut and fresh economic data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session down 0.2%, with banks falling 1.2% to lead losses as most sectors and major bourses entered negative territory.

Euro zone inflation jumped to 1.3% in March from 0.9% in February, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat on Wednesday. Economists and central bankers had expected the surge in consumer price growth, but closely watched underlying inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, unexpectedly slowed in March.

German unemployment fell in March, Federal Labour Office data showed on Wednesday. The total number of jobless people in seasonally-adjusted terms declined by 8,000 to 2.745 million, despite the protracted lockdown measures in place as a Covid-19 resurgence troubles Europe's largest economy.

Deliveroo plunges in debut

British food delivery firm Deliveroo tumbled as much as 30% on its first day of trading Wednesday, as investors raised concerns with its gig economy model and high valuation. The stock closed down by about 26%.

Just Eat Takeaway and Delivery Hero, two other big names in the food delivery space, both rose around 1%.

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks climbed Wednesday as investors weighed the potential impact of President Joe Biden's infrastructure spending plan. The spending package could cost more than $3 trillion.

Private payrolls in March expanded at the fastest pace since September 2020 with companies adding 517,000 workers for the month, according to a report from payroll processing firm ADP. Investors now await the key March jobs report on Friday to assess the state of the labor-market recovery.

OPEC and allies, a group known as OPEC+, are set to meet on Thursday following a month of volatility in oil prices amid concerns about extended pandemic lockdowns in Europe.

On the corporate front in Europe, Daimler holds an AGM while Lloyd's of London released its full-year results, posting a $1.2 billion pre-tax loss for 2020 on the back of Covid-19-related claims.

Siemens Gamesa climbed 5.5% after receiving an order to supply 1,400 MW to wind turbines in the U.K.

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- CNBC's Maggie Fitzgerald and Eustance Huang contributed to this market report.

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