 European stocks fall as confidence takes tumble
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-25 07:47 European stocks fell after German business confidence sank the most since September 2001 and lower commodity prices hurt mining and energy shares. US index futures retreated, while Asian shares advanced. BHP Billiton Ltd, the world's biggest mining company, fell to a three-month low. Total SA, Europe largest oil refiner, slipped for the first time this week. EasyJet Plc led airlines lower, saying earnings will slide as much as 46 percent. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 1.2 percent to 283.31 at 12:09 pm in London, dragging the index from the highest this month. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 0.4 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.5 percent as Sony Corp advanced.
"We're very cautious," said Frederic Hamm, a Paris-based fund manager at Agilis Gestion, which oversees $235 million. "Declines are moving from one industry to the next. Now industrials are feeling the impact of an economy hurt by the banking crisis." The Stoxx 600 has dropped as much as 26 percent this year on concern accelerating inflation and more than $460 billion in credit-related losses worldwide will stifle economic and profit growth. Better-than-expected earnings by companies from Volkswagen AG to Nokia Oyj sparked a rebound from a three-year low on July 15 that trimmed declines in the pan-European benchmark index to 21 percent. National markets National benchmark indexes fell in 15 of the 18 western European markets. The UK's FTSE 100 slipped 0.6 percent with Rio Tinto Group and BP Plc declining. France's CAC 40 decreased 0.8 percent, and Germany's DAX lost 1 percent. Credit Suisse Group AG led an advance in Switzerland after reporting earnings that topped estimates. Business confidence in Germany, Europe's largest economy, slipped the most since the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, signaling growth is faltering. The Ifo institute said its business climate index fell to 97.5 from 101.2 in June. BHP sank 1.5 percent to 1,592 pence. Rio Tinto, the world's third-biggest mining company, fell 1.8 percent to 5,007 pence. Gold traded at its lowest in more than two weeks in Asia after the US dollar rallied to a two-week high against the euro, paring demand for the metal as hedge against inflation. Total lost 1.7 percent to 48.21 euros. BP, Europe's second- biggest oil company, slid 0.5 percent to 519. EasyJet, Europe's second-biggest discount airline, fell 5.7 percent to 348.75 after saying fiscal-year pretax profit will fall as much as 46 percent because of higher fuel expenses. Pretax earnings for the year through Sept 30 will be 110 million pounds to 120 million pounds. Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe's largest discount carrier, slipped 2.1 percent to 3.32 euros. Air France-KLM Group, the region's biggest airline, sank 1.9 percent to 16.58 euros. Agencies (China Daily 07/25/2008 page17) |
