European stocks were moving lower in lackluster trade on Thursday despite Markit’s Eurozone services PMI coming in at 55.2 in May, up from 50.5 in April and the highest level in almost three years.
The final composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 57.1 last month from April’s 53.8.
Caution prevails as investors await U.S. jobless claims and May private payrolls data today, followed by monthly jobs numbers on Friday for signs of an economic rebound amid rising inflation.
The pan European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2 percent to 450.57 after gaining 0.3 percent on Wednesday. The German DAX and France’s CAC 40 both were down around 0.2 percent.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 fell 0.7 percent to snap a three-day winning streak, with ex-dividend trades and B&M European Value Retail’s downbeat earnings outlook weighing on markets.
The British pound held steady on the back of upbeat services sector data showing the strongest rise in business activity in 24 years last month.
Discount retailer B&M European Value Retail lost nearly 3 percent in London. The company reported better-than-expected annual profits but warned of many uncertainties as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
Telecoms company BT Group fell 2.7 percent after a downgrade to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank.
Energy firm National Grid tumbled almost 5 percent and home improvement retailer Kingfisher gave up 3 percent on going ex-dividend.
French wine and spirits company Remy Cointreau was down more than 4 percent, giving up early gains.
After reporting a 27.5 percent jump in net profit for fiscal year 2020/21, the company said it is confident in its ability to continue to win market share in the exceptional spirits sector in 2021/22.
Construction materials group Saint-Gobain rallied 3.3 percent after saying it expects to reach record operating income in the first half of the year.
European Shares Subdued Ahead Of US Data
2021-06-03 09:44:22
