24th Apr 2018 17:17
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (Alliance News) - The European markets ended Tuesday's session with mixed results. After a positive start to the day, the market began to pare their early gains in the afternoon following the weak open on Wall Street.
Investors largely shrugged off today's weaker than expected German business confidence data, remaining largely fixed on a mixed batch of corporate financial results. Traders are also looking forward to Thursday's policy decision from the European Central Bank.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 0.13%. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.06%, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major UK companies, added 0.08%.
The DAX of Germany dropped 0.17%, but the CAC 40 of France rose 0.10%. The FTSE 100 of the UK gained 0.36%, but the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.11%.
In Frankfurt, SAP rallied 3.14% after announcing upbeat first-quarter results and lifting its FY18 outlook.
In Paris, tire maker Michelin fell 1.56% after disappointing quarterly results.
In London, mining giant Anglo American decreased 1.58% after warning of a hit to profits due to infestations and repairs halting operations in Minas Rio.
William Hill plunged 12.70%. The Times reported that the UK government is set to impose a GBP2 maximum bet on gambling machines.
Shire increased 3.42% after it received a revised takeover offer from Japan's Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
Apple supplier AMS plunged 9.01% in Zurich after it warned of a slowdown in the second quarter, citing lower orders from one of its main customers.
Paints and chemicals maker AkzoNobel tumbled 2.31% in Amsterdam. The company warned of higher raw material costs and forex losses after reporting a 5% increase in first-quarter net income from total operations.
Banco Santander also lost 3.25% in Madrid after posting disappointing results from its UK business.
German business confidence deteriorated more-than-expected to a 13-month low in April on trade tensions, survey data from the Munich-based Ifo Institute showed Tuesday. The business sentiment index fell to 102.1 from 103.3 a month ago. This was the lowest reading since March 2017, when the reading was 101.3. The score was forecast to drop moderately to 102.8.
France's manufacturing confidence declined in April, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Tuesday. The manufacturing sentiment index fell to 109 in April from 110 in March. The reading was expected to remain unchanged at 110. Nonetheless, the score was above its long-term average of 100.
The UK budget deficit decreased to its lowest March level since 2004, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, decreased by GBP 0.8 billion to GBP 1.3 billion in March. This was the lowest March net borrowing since 2004.
New home sales in the US jumped by much more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.
The report said new home sales soared by 4.0% to an annual rate of 694,000 in March after surging up by 3.6% to a revised rate of 667,000 in February. Economists had expected new home sales to climb by 1.9%.
After reporting a pullback in US consumer confidence in the previous month, the Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing an unexpected rebound in consumer confidence in the month of April.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 128.7 in April from a revised 127.0 in March. Economists had expected the index to dip to 126.1 from the 127.7 originally reported for the previous month.
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