Europe’s leading stock markets retreated yesterday with investors reacting to a clutch of company announcements and disappointing economic data in the eurozone and United States.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell 1.62 per cent to 5,984.07 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 1.31 per cent to 4,043.13 points while in Frankfurt the DAX dropped 1.69 per cent to 7,373.93 points.
Elsewhere in Europe, Lisbon dipped 0.20 per cent, Swiss stocks ended off 0.62 per cent, Madrid fell 1.04 per cent, Amsterdam dropped 1.25 per cent, Milan lost 1.72 per cent and Brussels gave up 1.76 per cent.
European stock markets headed down after the releases of March data revealing a sharp drop in retail sales in the eurozone’s biggest and most powerful economy, Germany.
Retail trade across the 17-nation eurozone fell by 1.0 per cent in March compared to February, when it had risen slightly against January. The losses were extended in the afternoon following disappointing new data on US job creation last month.
Payrolls firm ADP said private companies added 179,000 jobs, slowing from 207,000 net new jobs in March. Analysts had projected that nonfarm payrolls would grow by 200,000 in April.
Commodities giant Glencore set a price for its dual initial public offering in Hong Kong and London, which will be the world’s biggest so far this year.
The Switzerland-based giant has priced its shares at between £4.80 and £5.80 ($7.91-$9.55) for a sale expected to raise about $10 billion. The sale would value Glencore, the world’s biggest commodities trader by revenue, worth about $61 billion.
In Frankfurt yesterday, Germany’s Allianz became the latest insurance giant to see its profits hit by claims related to a string of natural disasters, most notably Japan’s monster earthquake and tsunami.
Europe’s biggest insurer said that first-quarter net profit slumped 44 per cent to slightly more than €900 million ($1.3 billion) because of €750 million in expenses related to natural catastrophes. Its share price fell 1.03 per cent to €105.30.
Also in Frankfurt, luxury car maker BMW announced a four-fold increase in net profits for the first quarter and increased its sales forecast for the year.
BMW said it made a net profit of €1.2 billion in the first quarter, compared to €324 million over the same period in 2010, beating the average analyst forecast of €1.0 billion.
Nevertheless, its shares slid 1.61 per cent to €62.35.US stocks also took a hit from the disappointing jobs data. At 1600 GMT, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.85 per cent at 12,806.29 points.
The broader S&P 500 index was down 0.88 per cent at 1,344.71 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite 0.89 per cent to 2,816.19.
“Early losses came from declines in the international markets on weaknesses in commodities and as traders focused on the headwinds facing the global economy,” said Charles Schwab analysts.