European stocks fell on Thursday as lingering worries over potential U.S. tax hikes and extended lockdowns in Europe dented hopes for a global economic recovery.
A clampdown by regulators on tech companies in China and the threat of Chinese stocks being kicked off U.S. exchanges also kept underlying sentiment cautious.
The pan European Stoxx 600 slid 0.2 percent to 422.59 after ending flat with a positive bias the previous day. The German DAX, France’s CAC 40 index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 were down between 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent.
Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore fell 1-3 percent as a third wave of coronavirus infections across Europe threatened to derail the fragile economic recovery.
Oil & gas company BP Plc lost 1.2 percent while Total SE and Royal Dutch Shell declined around 1.5 percent.
Cineworld plunged 12 percent after the world’s second-largest cinema operator reported a $3 billion loss for 2020 and said it plans to ask shareholders to approve a raise in its debt ceiling.
Compass Group shares rose over 1 percent. The foodservice company said it expects operating margin to increase by around 130 bps from 2.7 percent in the first quarter to about 4.0 percent in the second quarter.
H&M shares lost 2.3 percent in the wake of Beijing’s propaganda offensive against the Swedish clothing retailer over previously aired concerns on Xinjiang.
German sportswear firm Adidas slumped 4.3 percent amid the backlash in China against global brands for refusing to buy Xinjiang cotton.
Internet services company United Internet gave up 2.5 percent after its EBITDA for the fourth-quarter dropped to 152.5 million euros from 321.7 million euros in the previous year.
Siemens Healthineers AG declined 1.6 percent. The healthcare firm has decided to increase its share capital through a partial utilization of its authorized capital under the exclusion of shareholders’ subscription rights to 1.13 billion euros from 1.08 billion euros.
French utility Suez SA slid half a percent while energy management firm Schneider Electric edged up slightly. The companies have announced an agreement to form joint venture to develop and market a joint offering of innovative digital solutions for the management of the water cycle.
In economic releases, German consumer sentiment is set to improve in April after the easing of the hard lockdown and falling infection rates at the time of the survey, data from market research group GfK revealed.
The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to -6.2 in April from revised -12.7 in March. The reading was forecast to climb to -11.9.
France’s manufacturing business confidence index reading was 98 in March, unchanged from February, survey data from Insee showed. The score is the highest since March last year, when it was at the same level.
Earlier in the day, the Swiss central bank maintained its expansionary monetary policy and raised its inflation projections.
Market Analysis
European Shares Slide In Lackluster Trade
2021-03-25 09:59:26
