The German market is notably lower in afternoon trading Thursday, after data showed that German unemployment increased more than expected in June, before a crucial meeting of European Union leaders starting tonight.
Data from the Federal Labor Agency revealed that German unemployment rose by 7,000 in June from a month earlier compared to expectations for an increase of a more modest 3,000. In May, the number of unemployed persons increased by 1,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8 percent.
Meanwhile, Eurozone economic confidence declined less than economists expected in June, survey results from European Commission showed. The economic confidence index fell to 89.9 in June from 90.5, but remains above the consensus forecast of 89.6.
Italy sold its 5 and 10- year bonds at a debt auction at a higher price and the amount raised was slightly less than the maximum target set for the sale. The Italian treasury placed 2.5 billion euros of its 4.75 percent June 2017 treasury bonds to yield 5.84 percent, which was higher than 5.66 percent paid in the previous sale on May 30.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is falling 1.02 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is falling 0.86 percent.
After a slightly higher start, the DAX index dipped into negative territory and is currently declining 1.6 percent.
Commerzbank is leading the decliners by falling 5.5 percent, after the lender issued 176.55 million new shares. Deutsche Bank is losing around 4 percent.
Infineon Technologies is losing 4.6 percent. Goldman Sachs cut the stock to "Buy" from "Conviction Buy."
Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW are in negative territory.
Basf is losing 3.6 percent, Bayer is down 2.2 percent and steel giant ThyssenKrupp is falling 3.3 percent.
Merrill Lynch raised Allianz to "Most Preferred Insurers List." The stock is falling 1.6 percent.
Lanxess is losing 2.6 percent. Morgan Stanley removed the stock from "Best Ideas List."
Elsewhere in Europe, the French CAC 40 is falling 1.6 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is losing 0.9 percent. Switzerland's SMI is dropping 0.5 percent.
Across Asia/Pacific, markets had a mixed outing. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.7 percent and Australia's All Ordinaries edged up 0.04 percent. China's Shanghai Composite Index lost around 1 percent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.8 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory as traders reacted positively to a batch of relatively upbeat U.S. economic data. The Dow rose 0.7 percent, the Nasdaq climbed 0.7 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 0.9 percent.
In the commodity space, crude for August delivery is falling $0.16 to $80.05 per barrel and August gold is losing $8.0 to $1570.4 a troy ounce.
by RTT Staff Writer
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