European Stocks Track Lower in Tuesday Trading; Euro Area Economic Sentiment Plunges

12:14 PM EDT, 04/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets were tracking lower in Tuesday trading as The Stoxx Europe was declining 0.4% lower, Germany's DAX was off 0.5%, the FTSE 100 was down 1%, France's CAC declined 1.1%, and the Swiss Market Index was 1% lower.

Euro area economic outlook sentiment deteriorated sharply in April, according to the April ZEW Financial Market Survey, falling 11.9 points from March to -20.4. The reading was far lower than analyst expectations of -12.7, according to Bloomberg.

Aerospace and defense stocks are tumbling in Tuesday trading as Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems dropped 6% and 4.2% respectively in London. Safran and Thales fell 5.9% and 5.6% respectively in Paris. MTU Aero Rheinmetall was off 3.5% in Frankfurt, while Leonardo lost 5% in Milan.

In corporate news, Shell faces a fresh lawsuit by a Dutch climate activist organization demanding it immediately end its investments in new oil and gas projects, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing court documents.

"Shell must stop bringing new oil and gas fields into production. This is necessary to protect us from Shell's climate-disrupting activities," Friends of the Earth Netherlands, or Milieudefensie, said in the filing, Reuters reported.

In a statement posted to its website, Shell called the case "unrealistic, unreasonable," and "fundamentally misplaced," adding that "it ignores the role oil and gas will continue to play over the coming decades as renewables become more widely available."

Shares of the British oil and gas company were flat in London.

Barclays is facing scrutiny from UK regulators over its use of significant risk transfer, or SRT, transactions, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

The review, known as a Section 166 probe, has been requested by the Prudential Regulation Authority, the supervisory arm of the Bank of England, according to the publication. The report says the bank has commissioned an independent review of its practices.

Barclays did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of the British bank were off 1.1% in London.

BHP is looking to pursue large-scale copper exploration in Zambia, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing the country's mines ministry.

The company is targeting major deposits that are harder to detect using traditional methods, focusing on deeply buried or geologically concealed resources, the mines ministry quoted Campbell McCuaig, BHP's head of global generative exploration, as saying, Reuters reported.

BHP did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of the mining company were declining 1.4% in London.

AstraZeneca said Tuesday a phase 3 trial of Ultomiris in adults with Immunoglobulin A nephropathy, a rare kidney disease, met its primary endpoint.

The study showed a statistically significant reduction in proteinuria, based on 24-hour urine protein creatinine ratio at week 34, the company said.

AstraZeneca said it plans to submit the data to regulatory authorities while continuing the trial.

Shares of the British pharmaceutical company were losing more than 2% in London.

Rio Tinto said late Monday its Q1 global iron ore production was 82.8 million metric tonnes, up 12% year over year.

Iron ore sales for the quarter rose 2% from a year earlier to 75.7 million metric tonnes.

For 2026, the company continues to expect global iron ore sales of 343 million metric tonnes to 366 million metric tonnes.

Shares of Rio Tinto were down 1.4% in London.

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