European stock markets end Tuesday mostly lower

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - European stocks closed the second trading day of the week with losses, except for Germany, buffeted by geopolitical issues such as Iran and concerns about the independence of the US Federal Reserve

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.08%, or 0.51 points, to close Tuesday at 610.44.

The UK's FTSE 100 index fell 0.03% to 10,137.35 points, and France's CAC 40 was down 0.14% to 8,347.2.

Italy's FTSE MIB index also lost 0.45% to close at 45,525.1 points.

In the plus column, Germany's DAX 40 index was up 0.06% to end the day at 25,420.66 points.

In European markets, investors were focused on geopolitical developments, particularly concerning Iran, and concerns about the independence of the US Federal Reserve.

Investors are closely following the process that began after Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced that the US Justice Department threatened him with criminal charges related to the renovation of Fed buildings. Following the news, the heads of leading central banks around the world issued a joint statement supporting Powell.

On the data side, the consumer price index (CPI) in the US rose 0.3% monthly and 2.7% annually in December, in line with expectations.

Following the inflation data, US President Donald Trump said Powell should lower interest rates "meaningfully."

Meanwhile, the World Bank raised its global economic growth forecasts for this year from 2.4% to 2.6% and for next year from 2.6% to 2.7%.

The bank raised the US economy's growth expectation for this year from 1.6% to 2.2%, while the forecast for next year remained at 1.9%. The eurozone economy's growth expectation was also increased from 0.8% to 0.9% for this year and from 1% to 1.2% for next year.