BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (Alliance News) - The European markets ended Wednesday's session firmly in negative territory. Investor sentiment took a hit after Wall Street stocks sold off Tuesday on concerns over rising bond yields. Traders were also in a cautious mood ahead of tomorrow's policy statement from the European Central Bank.
The yield on the benchmark ten-year note climbed more firmly above 3% Wednesday. Concerns rising inflation may lead the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates faster than previously expected have recently pushed yields higher.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 0.79%. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.71%, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major UK companies, lost 0.76%.
The DAX of Germany dropped 1.02% and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.57%. The FTSE 100 of the UK declined 0.62% and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.64%.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Boerse dropped 1.65% after announcing personal and structural changes to its executive board.
SGL Carbon tumbled 4.09%. The chemical firm expects net income to be in the range of 30 million euros to 33 million euros in the first quarter 2018, compared to a loss of 0.3 million euros in the first-quarter of 2017, mainly driven by positive one-time effects.
Osram Licht plunged 16.37%. The manufacturer of lamps, lighting systems and electronic control gears has cut its fiscal year 2018 outlook, citing currency fluctuations and slower business development in the first half of fiscal year 2018.
In Paris, STMicroelectronics rallied 2.95% after its first-quarter profit more than doubled, driven by sales growth across all product groups.
IT services company Atos gained 2.35% after it announced a partnership with Google Cloud to develop artificial intelligence solutions to its global customers.
Kering surged 4.61% after the luxury goods company reported "spectacular growth' from Gucci in its first quarter results.
Air Liquide dropped 0.94% after its first-quarter revenue fell by 3.2% on a reported basis due to currency headwinds.
In London, Shire fell 2.80% after Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical struck a deal to buy the Irish drugmaker Shire for about USD65 billion.
Whitbread dipped 0.22% after announcing plans to demerge Costa Coffee.
CRH rose 2.25% after unveiling a EUR1 billion share buyback.
Lloyds Banking Group fell 1.69% after its first-quarter profit missed analyst expectations.
Credit Suisse jumped 3.55% in Zurich after the investment bank posted its strongest quarterly earnings in three years, underpinned by strong growth in its wealth management division.
Specialty chemicals company Clariant sank 7.38% after posting stagnant profit margins for the first quarter.
Germany's construction orders grew notably in February, figures from Destatis showed Wednesday. New orders in the main construction industry climbed 9.9% month-over-month in February. Orders surged 13.0% in February from a year earlier.
France consumer confidence improved unexpectedly in April, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday. The consumer sentiment index rose to 101 in April from 100 in March. The reading was expected to remain unchanged at 100.
