UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

RWE shares jump on report of interest in Innogy unit

European stocks closed with their first loss in four sessions Tuesday, with a selloff in the oil prices knocking down oil shares, while investors stepped back before this week's Dutch election and the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% to finish at 373.46, giving up a modest increase earlier in the session. Only the health-care, consumer-goods and tech groups ended higher.

Equity-trading volume was expected to be lighter than usual Tuesday as a snowstorm blanketed New York City. A snowstorm hitting the East Coast delayed a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump until Friday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-merkel-meeting-rescheduled-for-friday-2017-03-13).

Oil pressure: The European oil-and-gas index sank 1.7% as oil prices tumbled, pushing Brent crude down by more than 2% intraday to trade below $51 a barrel. The drop in prices accelerated after a monthly OPEC report showed an increase in U.S. and Saudi Arabian crude output (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-for-the-first-time-in-7-sessions-monthly-opec-report-ahead-2017-03-14) in an already oversupplied global market.

Among oil producers, shares of Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) fell 6.2%, Spain's Repsol SA (REPYY) lost 2.1% and France's Total SA (TOT) gave up 1.7%.

Meanwhile, shares of oil-field services provider John Wood Group PLC (WG.LN) dropped 6%, ending near the bottom of the Stoxx 600. That move gave back gains logged Monday after the company said it's acquiring rival Amec Foster Wheeler PLC (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wood-group-to-acquire-amec-in-oil-services-deal-2017-03-13-74853849)(AMFW.LN) in a GBP2.23 billion ($2.73 billion) all-share deal. Amec Foster shares fell 6.4% after Monday's nearly 12% surge.

Election watch: Overall, "it's a key week for global risk appetite, the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, where a rate increase is a virtual certainty, is likely to set the tone for risky assets like stocks in the coming weeks," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index, in a note. "The Dutch election on Wednesday kicks off a year of political risks for the eurozone."

Meanwhile, the general election in the Netherlands on Wednesday will be in focus, with investors watching if Geert Wilders' far-right Party for Freedom will make a strong showing.

"The outcome of the Dutch election, by itself, is not a market-moving event, however, it matters because of what it could herald about other, larger elections taking place in Europe this year," said Brooks. "If Wilders does not do as well as expected on Wednesday then we could see the markets start to reduce expectations of a victory for the French National Front leader Marine Le Pen in France's presidential elections in May."

Read:Who is the 'Dutch Trump' Geert Wilders, and why should investors care? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/who-is-the-dutch-trump-geert-wilders-and-should-investors-be-worried-about-him-2017-03-10)

Le Pen is a concern for some investors as she's called for France to leave the European Union and the euro.

Meanwhile, François Fillon, the previous front-runner in the French presidential campaign, on Tuesday was charged with misuse of public funds (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/french-presidential-candidate-fillon-charged-in-fake-jobs-scandal-2017-03-14), media reports said. The conservative candidate has denied any misconduct. Prosecutors say Fillon used public funds to pay his wife and children salaries for phony jobs.

The first round of voting in the French election is on April 23.

In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.5% to close at 4,974.26.

Investors also were awaiting the Fed, which is widely expected to increase interest rates (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-may-not-pull-any-punches-in-policy-statement-2017-03-13). European stocks have recently risen in part on the prospect that the U.S. economy has strengthened enough to take on another rate hike, but the move would still raise the cost of borrowing for companies.

Movers: RWE AG shares (RWE.XE) rallied 6.5% and topped the Stoxx 600 following a Bloomberg report that France's Engie SA (ENGI.FR) was considering making a bid for the German power utility's renewable energy unit, Innogy SE (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rwe-shares-jump-on-report-engie-will-bid-for-unit-2017-03-14)(IGY.XE).

Innogy shares tacked on 4.3% but Engie shares declined 1.4%.

Prudential PLC (PRU.LN) gained 3.3% after the insurer raised its dividend, posted a 7% rise (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/prudential-raises-dividend-operating-profit-up-7-2017-03-14) in 2016 operating profit and said it's on track to reach its financial objectives for 2017.

Online grocery retailer Ocado PLC (OCDO.LN) said sales rose 13.1% in the 13 weeks through Feb. 26 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ocado-sales-up-in-1st-quarter-sees-prices-rising-2017-03-14), although the company flagged signs of rising prices. But shares turned lower, ending down by 0.8%.

Data: The German government expects the country's economic growth to accelerate next year to a rate of 1.6%, according to the 2018 draft budget seen by The Wall Street Journal (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/germany-expects-economy-to-grow-faster-in-2018-2017-03-14).

German economic-sentiment expectations improved in March, according to the Zew survey (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-economic-sentiment-improved-in-march-zew-2017-03-14), but not by as much as expected.

Other indexes: The German DAX 30 index ended down 1.2 points at 11,988.79, little-changed. Amsterdam's AEX fell 0.4% to 510.06.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-on-the-rise-as-pound-drops-to-lowest-since-january-2017-03-14) flipped down by 0.1% to end at 7,357.85, as oil shares dropped. The benchmark during the session had risen above its all-time closing high as the pound slid against the dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-pound-slides-to-lowest-in-weeks-after-lawmakers-clear-a-path-for-brexit-2017-03-14) following the passage of the Article 50 bill that will allow the U.K. government to kick off the Brexit process.

The euro bought $1.0639, compared with $1.0653 late Monday in New York.

Read:What's going on in Scotland, and what that means for the pound (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pound-pushed-lower-as-scottish-referendum-worries-emerge-2017-02-27)

Also:A EUR60 billion bill and other hurdles on the U.K.'s path toward Brexit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-60-billion-bill-and-other-hurdles-for-the-uk-in-the-face-of-brexit-2017-03-13)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 14, 2017 13:33 ET (17:33 GMT)

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