LONDON (MarketWatch) � European stocks fell Thursday on worries over growth after the European Commission downwardly revised its economic forecasts and declared the euro-zone to be in a mild recession.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP �slipped 0.2% to close at 264.08, after trading as high as 265.74 earlier in the session.
Among the biggest decliners in the index, Commerzbank AG DE:CBK �lost 6.6% after announcing plans to boost capital by 1 billion euros ($1.33 billion). The bank also reported a 23% rise in fourth-quarter profit.
Click to Play Greek debt deal: Winds of change or blowing smoke?Many European observers breathed a sigh of relief when the euro zone approved a $172 billion debt relief package for Greece. Is it enough to reverse the ominous winds that have blown through the region for the past year? WSJ's Thorold Barker makes a stop on Mean Street to discuss. Photo: AP.
Also in Germany, Deutsche Telekom AG DE:DTE �shed 3% as it reported a drop in operating profit for 2011 and said it expects profit to drop further in 2012. The DAX 30 index DX:DAX �lost 0.5% to 6,809.46.
Adding to pressure on the German index, car makers Daimler AG DE:DAI , Volkswagen AG DE:VOW �and BMW AG DE:BMW �lost 1.9%, 3.1% and 1.5% respectively.
Auto stocks, which often track global growth indicators, headed south Thursday as the European Commission revised its euro-zone growth forecasts for 2012 down to a 0.3% contraction, and projected a slight recession. The commission had in November forecast 2012 growth of 0.5%.
Markets erased early gains after the release of the forecasts. Markets were initially buoyed a stronger-than-expected February reading for the Ifo Institute�s German business climate index. Read about Ifo.
U.S. stocks opened lower, but pushed back into positive territory.
In France, auto makers Peugeot SA FR:UG �PEUGY , off 2.6%, and Renault SA FR:RNO �RNSDF �down 2.4%, posted some of the biggest losses in the CAC 40 index FR:PX1 . The index closed virtually flat at 3,477.31.
Credit Agricole SA FR:ACA lost 4% after it reported a wider fourth-quarter loss, worse than analysts expected.
Accor SA FR:AC �slipped 2.7%, after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to hold after a strong run to give the shares a chance to �pause for breath.
Outside the main index in Paris, shares of investment bank Natixis FR:KN �jumped 8.4% after reporting a 32% loss in fourth-quarter profit, which was a little less than expected.
In London, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC UK:RBS �RBS �rose 5.1%, a top gainer for the FTSE 100 index UK:UKX , after reporting a loss that was smaller than expected.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC UK:LLOY �LYG �rose 3.3%, helping lift the U.K. index 0.4% to 5,937.89. Mining firms also supported the positive sentiment in London as gold continued to advance.
Gold miner Randgold Resources Ltd. UK:RRS �added 3.5% while Fresnillo PLC UK:FRES �gained 6.1%.
�Gold is the main driver for the rise in resource stocks and the Chinese PMI data yesterday helped a bit,� said Colin McLean, managing director at SVM Asset Management. The flash estimate for HSBC�s February manufacturing purchasing managers index rose Wednesday to 49.7, a four-month high, up from a final reading of 48.8 the previous month.
Also among notable gainers in Europe Thursday, top constituent Novo Nordisk AS NVO �DK:NOVOB �added 1.5%.
The Danish pharma firm has an obesity drug in phase three development, and Vivus Inc. VVUS �late Wednesday won FDA approval for an obesity drug, boosting hopes for further approvals in the area, according to Espen T. Jorgensen, analyst at DNP Markets
Shares of Vivus surged 91% in after-hours activity Wednesday.
�Obesity drugs have met so much resistance from authorities, so any positive indications about approvals are good for companies in that segment,� said Jorgensen.
In Zurich, Swiss Re AG CH:SREN �added 2.6% after reporting profit for 2011 more than doubled and beat analysts estimates.
No comments:
Post a Comment