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* Miners hit by slew of rating downgrades
* HSBC surges on signalling overhaul
* BP reverses gains, oil sector at 7-month low
(Updates to close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew
Oct 27 (Reuters) - European stocks extended losses on
Tuesday as worries about the economic fallout of tighter
coronavirus restrictions on the continent overshadowed some
better-than-expected earnings reports.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1% to a
one-month low, on rising infections in the United States and
Europe and fading hopes of a U.S. stimulus package before the
presidential election.
Focus will now be on Thursday's meeting of the European
Central Bank for clues on monetary stimulus for the bloc.
"The ECB is widely expected to stand pat until the next
meeting. Macro forecasts won't be updated until the December 10
meeting, but the bank will have to acknowledge the deteriorating
outlook now," said Win Thin, global head of strategy at Brown
Brothers Harriman.
"There's a small risk of more jaw boning against the
stronger euro."
Germany's DAX shed 0.9% to hit four month lows,
while France's CAC 40 fell 1.8% to a one-month trough as
the country grappled with a runaway infection rate.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is planning a "lockdown
light" in Europe's largest economy that would mainly focus on
the closure of bars and restaurants to slow down a second wave
of infections, newspaper Bild reported.
Losses on the UK's FTSE 100 were limited by a 3.4%
jump in Europe's biggest bank HSBC after the lender
signalled a pandemic-induced overhaul of its business model,
accelerating plans to shrink in size and slash costs.
But shares in oil major BP fell 2.1%. The company
swung back to a small profit in the third quarter, but also
warned of pandemic-related uncertainties. Europe's oil and gas
sector index touched its lowest level in seven months.
Spanish bank Santander closed down 1.3% as it
tracked broader negative investor sentiment in the market. It
had earlier in the day logged gains of up to 5% after saying it
expects 2020 core profit to beat market expectations, helped by
additional cost savings of 1 billion euros.
Spain's IBEX index fell 2.1%, also on worries about
the economic impact of coronavirus-related curbs.
Third-quarter earnings from Europe remain largely positive.
Out of the 27% of the STOXX 600 companies that have reported so
far, 73% have beat profit expectations, according to Refinitiv
data.
French consulting and IT services provider Capgemini
jumped 2.1% after confirming its full-year targets.
Tobacco group Swedish Match climbed 3.5% as it
reported a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on the
back of higher sales of smokeless products.
Miners fell 1.4%, dragging markets lower, after
Liberum analysts downgraded stocks of Rio Tinto,
Antofagasta and KAZ Minerals.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila and Susan Fenton)
