The European markets are in negative territory in afternoon trading Monday, reversing the previous session's gains, amid profit taking. Some broker comments and lingering worries about the debt crisis contributed to downbeat sentiment. Steel firms are under pressure.
The European finance ministers' meeting in Cyprus on Saturday failed to find a consensus over the European Commission's proposal on the banking union. Countries, including Germany, have aired differences over the timetable for the single supervisory mechanism.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is falling 0.56 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is dropping 0.25 percent.
The German DAX is losing 0.21 percent and the French CAC 40 is falling 0.60 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 is sliding 0.31 percent while Switzerland's SMI is up 0.15 percent.
In Frankfurt, UBS cut ThyssenKrupp to "Sell" from "Neutral." The stock is falling 2.6 percent. Salzgitter is retreating 2.5 percent.
RWE and E.ON are declining 1.2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
Credit Suisse reduced its rating on Deutsche Bank to "Underperform" from "Neutral." The stock is moderately lower. Commerzbank, however, is gaining 1.3 percent.
Gerry Weber was lowered to "Neutral" from "Buy" by Merrill Lynch. The stock is declining 2.8 percent.
Linde is climbing 1.6 percent, leading the gainers.
BMW and Daimler are moderately higher while Volkswagen is down 0.4 percent.
On the CAC 40 index, ArcelorMittal is declining around 3 percent. Tire firm Michelin is losing 2.4 percent.
Vivendi is dropping 2.2 percent. UBS cut the stock to "Sell" from "Neutral."
HSBC cut Societe Generale to "Neutral" from "Overweight." The stock is falling 0.2 percent. Credit Agricole is moderately lower while BNP Paribas is gaining 0.5 percent.
Renault is losing 1.8 percent while Peugeot is gaining 0.40 percent.
Metal fabrication firm Vallourec is climbing 2.7 percent. Airbus maker EADS is adding 1.7 percent.
In London, Vodafone is losing 1.3 percent. The telecom giant might make a provision of $2.2 billion to cover some tax risks in India, as a result of a law change in the South Asian country, Bloomberg reported, citing an interview with its Chief Financial Officer Andy Halford.
Miners are lower. Anglo American is declining 1.3 percent and Antofagasta is losing 0.8 percent.
Barclays is losing 0.7 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland is declining over 2 percent.
BT Group is dropping 1.5 percent. Exane BNP cut the stock to "Neutral" from "Outperform."
JJB Sports is declining 24 percent. Reports said that nearly half of the sports goods retailer's stores may be closed and around 2000 jobs may be eliminated after its takeover deal with Sports Direct International concludes.
Ashmore is gaining 3.3 percent and Aggreko is gaining 1.1 percent.
Unilever is gaining 1 percent after a broker upgrade.
Swedish apparel retailer Hennes & Mauritz reported growth in total sales for August, while sales in comparable units dropped from last year, amid extreme heat weather conditions. The firm said its third-quarter sales were hit by a strong Swedish krona. The stock is falling over 2 percent in Stockholm.
SSAB is plunging 7.4 percent in Stockholm after reporting weak demand in the third quarter.
Across Asia/Pacific, Australia's All Ordinaries gained 0.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.1 percent while China's Shanghai Composite Index retreated 2.1 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the markets continued to benefit from a positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's announcement of additional quantitative easing. The Dow rose 0.4 percent, the Nasdaq jumped 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent.
In the commodity space, crude for October delivery is falling $0.20 to $98.80 per barrel and December gold is losing $0.9 to $1771.8 a troy ounce.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis