European Stocks Fall as Chinese Imports Plummet
London (Oct 13) European stocks fell on Tuesday following news of a steep decline in Chinese imports, with the gloom fueled by predominantly negative domestic data.
Chinese trade data showed imports fell by about a fifth in September, though exports declined less than expected. Meanwhile, in Europe, U.K. consumer price figures showed the country had slipped back into deflation in September for the first time in five months, with prices down 0.1% on the year, and in Germany the ZEW index of investors' and analysts' assessment of the current economic situation slipped to 55.2 in October from 67.5 in September and well below predictions for an index reading of 64.7.
News of an agreement in principle for Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) to buy SABMiller (SBMRY) for more than £71.2 billion ($109.4 billion) lifted the target's stock in London by almost 9% but failed to shift the general market malaise. AB InBev shares were up 1.7% in Brussels.
By late morning in London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.82% at 6,319.18. In Frankfurt the DAX declined 1.19% to 9,999.57 and in Paris the CAC 40 tumbled 1.63% to 4,612.46.
Royal Mail (ROYMY) was down more than 4% in London after the U.K. Department of Business late Monday announced plans to place its remaining 14% stake with institutional investors.
Home builder Bellway (BLWYY) was up well over 3% after beating full-year profit expectations and announcing a 48% increase to the total dividend for the year just ended.
London-listed global depository shares at Russia's X5 Retail Groupwere up close to 3% on news of a 28% increase in third-quarter sales, and a 13.1% leap in same-store sales.
U.K. payment processing company Worldpay Group rose as much as 6% on its debut after a £2.2 billion ($3.4 billion) London IPO. Shares in the Advent International Corp. and Bain Capital LLC-backed company were recently trading at 251.50 pence compared with an IPO price of 240 pence. The size of the IPO rises to £2.5 billion if a green shoe is used.
In Frankfurt, software maker SAP (SAP - Get Report) was the lead gainer on the DAX after announcing strong third-quarter results including a doubling of revenue from cloud subscriptions.
In Paris, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMHF) was down more than 3% after investors honed in on the negative aspects of third-quarter revenue figures that came in ahead of expectations overall. Sales of fashion and leather goods disappointed investors, though.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed down 1.15% at 18,234.74 after markets reopened following Monday's public holiday. The Topix closed down 0.79% at 1,503.13.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed down 0.57% at 22,600.46. The Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.17% to 3,293.23.
Source: TheStreet
