European shares down as Inditex boost offset by tech retreat

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.05% lower at 552.12 points

European shares reversed course to close lower on Wednesday as a boost from Spanish fast-fashion giant Inditex was offset by a pullback in technology stocks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.05% lower at 552.12 points.

Inditex jumped 6.4% after the company said sales had picked up between August 1 and September 8 after months of poor demand. The gains helped lift Spain’s benchmark index by 1.25% to a two-week high, while the STOXX 600’s retail sub-index gained 1.4%.

Additional support for the STOXX 600 came from the European aerospace and defence index, which added 1.44% to a record high.

Overall gains were suppressed by technology, which was the day’s poorest performing sector, declining 1.65% and snapping a five-day winning streak – its longest in three months.

It might just be a case of following the overall theme where we’re seeing more cyclical stocks outperforming the tech heavyweights, said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

Travel and Leisure shares dropped 1.4%.

Germany’s DAX declined 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.

France’s CAC 40 gained 0.15% after President Emmanuel Macron appointed loyalist and former defence minister Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister on Tuesday, the fifth one in less than two years.

Recent governments in the country have struggled to unify over plans to rein in debt-fuelled fiscal spending, and investors are bracing for Fitch’s report on the country’s credit rating on Friday.

S&P Global, meanwhile, said the appointment of a new French PM will do little to solve the country’s fiscal problems and uncertain political environment.

Lecornu is tasked with steering the 2026 budget through parliament to kick-start efforts to reduce the euro zone’s largest deficit.