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European Shares Struggle For Direction After PMI Data

March 24, 2026 — 05:18 am EDT

Written by

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(RTTNews) - European stocks struggled for direction on Tuesday as uncertainty lingered despite U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to postpone potential strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure for five days.

Huge explosions were heard in Tehran and other cities, as Iran denied it held talks with the U.S. to end the war.

"Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors," Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in response to Trump's comments, adding that Trump's latest rhetoric "is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the U.S. and Israel are trapped."

Iran's foreign ministry said Trump's remarks were "part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time" for military plans.

In economic releases, a survey showed Eurozone private sector growth slowed sharply in March.

The S&P Global flash euro zone Composite Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 50.5 from 51.9 in February, marking a 10-month low.

The pan European Stoxx 600 was up 0.1 percent at 577.51 after rising 0.6 percent on Monday.

The German DAX dropped half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slid 0.1 percent while France's CAC 40 was marginally higher.

French AI-software company Sidetrade SA added 2.4 percent after Mission Trail Capital Management LLC acquired 80,659 shares of the company, representing 5.39 percent of its outstanding share capital.

German automakers BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen were modestly higher after industry data showed Europe's new car registrations recovered in February, driven by higher demand for battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

British game developer and publisher Everplay Group slumped 13.5 percent after reporting flat sales for the full year ended December 31, 2025.

Trustpilot shares plummeted 11 percent. The Italian competition authority has fined the online review platform €4 million for misleading consumers.

Homebuilder Bellway lost 8 percent after trimming its operating margin outlook for fiscal ?2026.

Home improvement retailer Kingfisher gained 1 percent on reporting a rise in its annual profit.

Shares of Spanish beauty brand Puig soared 13 percent after peer Estee Lauder confirmed it is in talks about merging the two companies to create a cosmetics giant with about $20 billion in annual sales.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.