Portuguese Stocks Lag Behind European Peers

Portuguese stocks sharply declined on Tuesday, marking the worst performance on the broader European index following the resignation of Prime Minister António Costa due to an investigation into alleged misconduct related to lithium and hydrogen mining projects in the country. The Portuguese index fell by 2.5%, with Mota Engil’s shares dropping 5.6% to lead losses in Lisbon. Stewart Cole, Chief Macroeconomist at Equity Capital, stated, "Markets dislike uncertainty." He added, "We do not know the outcome of this, who will succeed the Prime Minister necessarily, and what this means for the direction of the Portuguese economy. We will have to wait and see if things become clearer in the coming weeks." Costa expressed his relief but will not be a candidate to lead the government for a fourth term. The Stoxx 600 European index fell by 0.2% at the close, continuing losses from the previous session after breaking a five-day winning streak on Monday. It had risen more than 3% last week amid strong earnings and signs that major central banks were nearing the end of interest rate hikes.