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European shares edge lower; financials weigh
Wed, 2nd Dec 2009 12:17
By Christoph Steitz
FRANKFURT, Dec 2 (Reuters) - European equities edged lower
on Wednesday after their biggest one-day gain in more than 4
months in the previous session, as a decline in banking stocks
offset higher pharma and food shares.
At 1132 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300
index of top shares was 0.2 percent lower at 1,009.49 points.
The index has gained 56 percent since reaching a lifetime
low in early March and is up about 21 percent for the year.
'Markets are daydreaming,' said Christian Schmitt, market
strategist at Helaba, pointing to earlier gains across Europe.
'After yesterday's market hike there is no special argument
why one should buy in today,' he added.
Banks, which helped the index to gain 2.6 percent a day
earlier as worries about Dubai's debt faded, took the most
points off the FTSEurofirst 300 on Wednesday.
Royal Bank of Scotland led banking shares lower,
down 7 percent, with news that Britain will have a veto on
bonuses at the part-nationalised bank, and a cautious note from
Credit Suisse weighing on the sector.
HSBC, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered were down 1.4 to 3.5
percent.
The world's largest cellphone maker Nokia fell
1.1 percent. The company said it expects handset market volumes
to grow around 10 percent next year, more than analysts expect.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was down 0.5
percent, Germany's DAX was 0.3 percent lower and
France's CAC 40 was down 0.2 percent.
MACRO DATA
Investors awaited U.S. ADP Employment report, due at 1315
GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expected a loss of 155,000
jobs versus an October job loss of 203,000.
'Investors have been cutting their positions in the run up
before the Christmas holiday and minimising risk. It is risk
aversion at the moment,' said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director
at Seven Investment Management.
'With the ADP report, it is going to be fascinating to see
if the level of unemployment is continuing to increase or if
there are any signs it is bottoming out. The expectation is that
is going to be weak so any improvement will be an encouraging
sign.'
Food producers advanced, with the DJ Stoxx European Food &
Beverage Index rising 1 percent to feature as the top
sectoral gainer.
Nestle rose 1.1 percent, boosted by a note on 2010
by UBS, in which it has the stock as a suggested buy, along with
pharma stocks AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline,
that were 0.3 and 0.2 percent higher, respectively.
The DJ Stoxx European Health Care Index was 0.4
percent higher. Swiss drugmaker Roche rose 0.6 percent
after saying a diabetes
treatment currently undergoing Phase III
trials met primary endpoints in the most recent studies.
(Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson in London and Myria
Mildenberger in Frankfurt; Editing by Hans Peters)
Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKS ============================================================= For rolling updates on what is moving European shares please click on ============================================================= For pan-Europeanmarket data and news, click on codes in brackets: European Equities speed guide................... FTSEurofirst 300 index.............................. DJ STOXX index...................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................... Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors................... Top 25 European pct gainers....................... Top 25 European pct losers........................ Main stock markets: Dow Jones............... Wall Street report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices...................................... Reuters survey of world bourse outlook.......... Western European IPO diary........................... European Asset Allocation......................... Reuters News at a Glance: Equities............... Main currency report:............................... Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKS/ =2
(christoph.steitz@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1269; Reuters Messaging: christoph.steitz.reuters.com@reuters.net)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
FRANKFURT, Dec 2 (Reuters) - European equities edged lower
on Wednesday after their biggest one-day gain in more than 4
months in the previous session, as a decline in banking stocks
offset higher pharma and food shares.
At 1132 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300
index of top shares was 0.2 percent lower at 1,009.49 points.
The index has gained 56 percent since reaching a lifetime
low in early March and is up about 21 percent for the year.
'Markets are daydreaming,' said Christian Schmitt, market
strategist at Helaba, pointing to earlier gains across Europe.
'After yesterday's market hike there is no special argument
why one should buy in today,' he added.
Banks, which helped the index to gain 2.6 percent a day
earlier as worries about Dubai's debt faded, took the most
points off the FTSEurofirst 300 on Wednesday.
Royal Bank of Scotland led banking shares lower,
down 7 percent, with news that Britain will have a veto on
bonuses at the part-nationalised bank, and a cautious note from
Credit Suisse weighing on the sector.
HSBC, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered were down 1.4 to 3.5
percent.
The world's largest cellphone maker Nokia fell
1.1 percent. The company said it expects handset market volumes
to grow around 10 percent next year, more than analysts expect.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was down 0.5
percent, Germany's DAX was 0.3 percent lower and
France's CAC 40 was down 0.2 percent.
MACRO DATA
Investors awaited U.S. ADP Employment report, due at 1315
GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expected a loss of 155,000
jobs versus an October job loss of 203,000.
'Investors have been cutting their positions in the run up
before the Christmas holiday and minimising risk. It is risk
aversion at the moment,' said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director
at Seven Investment Management.
'With the ADP report, it is going to be fascinating to see
if the level of unemployment is continuing to increase or if
there are any signs it is bottoming out. The expectation is that
is going to be weak so any improvement will be an encouraging
sign.'
Food producers advanced, with the DJ Stoxx European Food &
Beverage Index rising 1 percent to feature as the top
sectoral gainer.
Nestle rose 1.1 percent, boosted by a note on 2010
by UBS, in which it has the stock as a suggested buy, along with
pharma stocks AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline,
that were 0.3 and 0.2 percent higher, respectively.
The DJ Stoxx European Health Care Index was 0.4
percent higher. Swiss drugmaker Roche rose 0.6 percent
after saying a diabetes
trials met primary endpoints in the most recent studies.
(Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson in London and Myria
Mildenberger in Frankfurt; Editing by Hans Peters)
Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKS ============================================================= For rolling updates on what is moving European shares please click on ============================================================= For pan-Europeanmarket data and news, click on codes in brackets: European Equities speed guide................... FTSEurofirst 300 index.............................. DJ STOXX index...................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................... Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors................... Top 25 European pct gainers....................... Top 25 European pct losers........................ Main stock markets: Dow Jones............... Wall Street report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices...................................... Reuters survey of world bourse outlook.......... Western European IPO diary........................... European Asset Allocation......................... Reuters News at a Glance: Equities............... Main currency report:............................... Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKS/ =2
(christoph.steitz@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1269; Reuters Messaging: christoph.steitz.reuters.com@reuters.net)
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
