European stocks fell from a one-month high as investors analysed valuations and as pro-Russian
rebels widened their attack on Ukraine’s forces. U.S. index
futures and Asian shares also fell.
Gemalto NV descended 2.2 percent after reporting first-half revenue that missed analysts’ estimates. Ocado Group Plc slumped 13 percent after Redburn Ltd. advised investors to sell shares in the online grocer. Essilor International SA advanced 4.7 percent after posting an 11 percent increase in first-half adjusted profit. Eiffage SA rose 4.1 percent after Kepler Cheuvreux upgraded the shares.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.8 percent to 340.46 at 12:02 p.m. in London after data showed that German unemployment unexpectedly rose in August. The benchmark gauge climbed 2 percent in the three days through yesterday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled policy makers are ready to add stimulus. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.4 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.3 percent.
“The index has had a pretty nice rise over the past few
weeks and investors may be taking some money off the table in
case the U.S. data doesn’t meet expectations,” Ben Kumar, who
helps manage $10 billion at Seven Investment Management LLP in
London, said.
“Perhaps investors also feel that the recent poor economic news in the euro zone - such as the rise in German unemployment - isn’t quite bad enough to prompt action from the ECB, but isn’t good enough to support a continued rally.”
The Stoxx 600 added 0.1 percent yesterday to reach the highest level since July 24. The gauge trades at 15.4 times the projected earnings of its members, higher than the five-year average of 12.6 times, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Data at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show 300,000 Americans made first-time jobless claims in the week ended Aug. 23, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Another release may show pending sales of previously owned houses rose 0.5 percent in July, after a 1.1 percent drop the prior month.
A final report today confirmed that an index of euro-area household sentiment decreased to minus 10 in August. Separate figures showed the number of Germans out of work climbed a seasonally adjusted 2,000 this month.
The volume of shares changing hands in Stoxx 600-listed companies was 10 percent higher than the 30-day average for this time of the day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The VStoxx Index, which measures options traders’ expectations of volatility in euro-area stocks, jumped 10 percent.
Gemalto (GTO) lost 2.2 percent to 75.96 euros. The security-software maker reported first-half revenue of 1.13 billion euros ($1.49 billion), missing analysts’ estimates of 1.16 billion euros. Gemalto said it made profit from operations of 120 million euros, below projections of 135 million euros.
Ocado slumped 13 percent to 350.3 pence after Redburn downgraded the shares to sell from buy, citing slowing sales. The brokerage almost halved its estimate for the stock’s fair value to 257 pence from 500 pence.
