BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (Alliance News) - The European markets ended Wednesday's session with mixed results.
Trade concerns had a negative impact on investor sentiment, following reports that US President Donald Trump's administration is considering raising the proposed tariff on USD200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25% from the 10% announced last month.
Traders were also in a cautious mood ahead of today's policy decision from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged. Investors are also looking ahead to tomorrow's policy decision from the Bank of England. The BoE is widely expected to increase rates by a quarter point Thursday.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 0.5%. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue-chip stocks also decreased 0.5%, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major UK companies, lost 0.5%.
The DAX of Germany dropped 0.5% and the CAC of France fell 0.2%. The FTSE 100 of the UK declined 1.2%, but the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.1%.
In Frankfurt, engineering group Thyssenkrupp dropped 0.7% after cutting its profit guidance for the current financial year.
Dialog Semiconductor soared 8.4%. The company said it has ended talks to buy Synaptics.
In Paris, Air France-KLM surged 4.2% after its operating profit in the second quarter came in above expectations.
Building materials company Compagnie de Saint-Gobain lost 1.3%, as it has acquired Germany-based HKO for an undisclosed amount.
In London, paper & packaging group Smurfit Kappa rallied 2.6% after it posted 5% revenue growth in the first-half of the year.
Power provider Aggreko soared 9.3% and lender Lloyds Banking Group advanced 1.7% after posting solid first-half results.
Rio Tinto fell 3.8% after its first-half net earnings were USD4.38 billion and underlying earnings were USD4.42 billion.
Outsourcer Capita plunged 8.6% after lowering profit guidance.
ArcelorMittal advanced 2.3% in Amsterdam after its second-quarter earnings topped forecasts.
Eurozone manufacturing activity remained subdued at the start of the third quarter, as initially estimated, final data from IHS Markit showed Wednesday. The factory Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 55.1 in July, in line with flash estimate, from 54.9 in June.
The UK manufacturing sector expanded at the slowest pace in three months in July, survey data from IHS Markit and Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply showed Wednesday. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 54.0 in July from 54.3 in June. However, any reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector.
UK house prices increased at a faster pace in July, data from Nationwide Building Society showed Wednesday. House prices advanced 2.5% year-on-year in July, faster than the 2% rise in June. House price growth was forecast to ease to 1.8%.
China's manufacturing activity expanded at the slowest pace in eight months in July as export orders declined the most in more than two years, survey results from IHS Markit showed Wednesday. The Caixin Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 50.8 in July from 51.0 in June. Although the indicator remained above the neutral 50.0, the score suggested the weakest growth since November 2017.
With the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report looming on Friday, payroll processor ADP released a report on Wednesday showing private sector employment in the US increased by much more than expected in the month of July.
ADP said private sector employment jumped by 219,000 jobs in July after climbing by an upwardly revised 181,000 jobs in June.
Economists had expected an increase of about 185,000 jobs compared to the addition of 177,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Partly reflecting slowdowns in new orders and production growth, the Institute for Supply Management released a report on Wednesday showing growth in US manufacturing activity slowed by more than anticipated in the month of July.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index fell to 58.1 in July after unexpectedly climbing to 60.2 in June. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the manufacturing sector, economists had expected the index to show a more modest drop to 59.5.
Construction spending in the US showed a significant decrease in the month of June, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The Commerce Department said construction spending slumped by 1.1% to an annual rate of USD1.317 trillion in June from a revised rate of USD1.332 trillion in May.
While economists had expected construction spending to rise by 0.3%, the revised data for May showed a 1.3% jump in spending compared to the previously reported 0.4% increase.
