Europe close: Stocks mostly lower with gold in focus
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Monday 22 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - European shares were mostly lower on Monday with focus the auto sector in focus after luxury car maker Porsche cut its earnings outlook on the back of weak demand for electric cars.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.13% to 553.40 helped by fresh highs on Wall Street. Germany's DAX was 0.48% lower at 23,527.05.
Against that backdrop, IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "Hopes of more rate cuts seem likely to support further advances in stocks in the medium term, though they do look at risk of some choppiness given the lighter calendar this week."
Looking ahead, the Swiss National Bank meets on Thursday, with no change expected to the benchmark rate, which currently sits at 0%. Flash estimates for the September eurozone PMI surveys are due on Tuesday.
Traders were also looking at the potential fallout from US President Donald Trump's shock decision late on Friday to raise the H-1B visa application fee to $100,000. Firms such as Amazon, which has around 14,000 staff on such visas, were scrambling to establish how the new policy would affect them.
"While the H-1B applies to less than 1% of the American workforce, it's a segment that punches above its weight when it comes to driving innovation. Banking titan JP Morgan asked holders currently outside of the US to rush back by the end of the weekend, with similar requests issued by the tech giants Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Derren Nathan.
In economic news, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) left its key loan rates unchanged at record lows for the fourth month in a row as the world's second-largest economy looked to mitigate the impact of US tariffs.
On the commodities front, miners got a boost as gold futures hit a fresh record, climbing to near $3,800 an ounce. The precious metal has risen by 10% over the past month, boosted by the prospect of further US interest cuts, geopolitical uncertainty and higher government debts.
Fresnillo was among the top gainers, with Glencore and Rio Tinto following suit.
In equity news, shares in Porsche slid after the German luxury sports carmaker dialled back the rollout of electric models due to weak demand and slashed its 2025 profitability outlook.
Parent Volkswagen and holding company Porsche SE, which is Volkswagen's biggest shareholder, also declined on the news, which spilled over to dampen sentiment in the rest of the sector, hitting Fiat maker Stellantis.
Spanish bank BBVA fell as the lender lifted its bid for rival Sabadell by 10% to 3.39 euros per share, valuing its target at €17bn. Sabadell shares were also lower on the news.
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