European Shares Edge Lower In Cautious Trade
European stocks fell in cautious trade on Monday after a government crackdown pushed China stocks to their worst day in a year and a survey showed German business confidence weakened unexpectedly in July.
German business sentiment index fell to 100.8 in July from a revised 101.7 in June, the ifo Institute said. The score was forecast to rise to 102.1 from June’s initially estimated value of 101.8.
Rising COVID-19 infections also dented sentiment, with Russia’s total virus cases surpassing 6 million and Turkey reporting a tripling of cases on Sunday compared with earlier this month.
The key event of the week for markets is the Fed meeting, where investors will look for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on inflation and interest rates.
On the earnings front, more than one third of S&P 500 companies are set to unveil their quarterly earnings this week, headlined by Facebook, Tesla, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon.com.
The pan European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.3 percent to 459.93 after climbing 1.1 percent on Friday. The German DAX dropped 0.6 percent, France’s CAC 40 index eased 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3 percent.
Dutch technology investor Prosus, which has a 28.9 percent stake in Tencent Holdings, plunged almost 10 percent after Beijing intensified its regulatory crackdown on the Chinese internet giant.
Koninklijke Philips lost 3.1 percent after reporting a fall in second-quarter net profit.
Credit Suisse was marginally lower after the Swiss banking giant said it reached an out-of-court settlement with its former wealth-management executive over allegations of spying.
ABB was little changed after reports it is in advanced talks to sell its mechanical power transmission business to RBC Bearings Inc.
Faurecia shares declined 4 percent despite the French car parts maker posting higher first-half sales and profit, and upgrading its 2021 cash flow target.
Lower yields pulled down banks, with Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and HSBC Holdings falling around 1 percent.
Strong base metal prices helped lift miners, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore rising about 1 percent each.
Low-cost carrier Ryanair jumped 3.6 percent. The company lifted its full-year traffic forecasts after reporting a smaller-than-expected first quarter loss.
Drug maker AstraZeneca, which recently completed its $39-billion acquisition of Alexion, fell about 1 percent.
Meat producer Cranswick rallied 2.2 percent after saying its full-year outlook remains in line with management expectations.
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