Miners, weak earnings drag European stocks lower (updated)

Mid Penn Bancorp

21/10/2021 10:18

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    * Miners hit by Evergrande troubles
    * Unilever, Hermes beat earnings estimates
    * Barclays, Nordea down despite strong earnings

 (Adds analysts' comment, updates prices)
    By Anisha Sircar
    Oct 21 (Reuters) - European stocks retreated from six-week
highs on Thursday, with miners leading the declines on renewed
concerns about China's property sector, while mixed quarterly
updates from companies dampened risk appetite.
    The Europe-wide STOXX 600 index  .STOXX  fell 0.2% due to a
dour mood in global markets following the collapse of a $2.6
billion asset sale at indebted developer China Evergrande Group.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RG18O
     European miners  .SXPP , which have a large exposure to
China  .SXPP , shed 2.5%. UK-listed shares of Anglo American
 AAL.L  fell 3.7% even though it reported a 2% rise in overall
production in the third quarter.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RH0B8
    Worries about China's plan to bring down coal prices hit
high-flying metal prices on Wednesday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nP8N2RA02M 
    "China's macro cycle has troughed, but growth remains
subdued," said Andreas Bruckner, Bank of America's European
equity strategist, who earlier this month set a year-end target
of 420 for the STOXX 600, implying a fall of about 10% from
current levels.
    "The downside risks relative to our projections are
increasing, given the potential additional drag from
supply-chain disruptions, energy shortages in Europe and China,
the intensifying debt crisis in China's property sector, and the
risk of a central bank policy mistake."
    Swiss engineering and tech group ABB  ABBN.S  tumbled nearly
6% after it lowered its full-year sales forecast and warned of
shortages of components, while Sweden's AB Volvo  VOLVb.ST  fell
about 0.8% after it said chip shortages hampered production of
its trucks.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2RH0Q1
    There was no relief for banking stocks  .SX7P  either. The
sector fell 0.9% even though UK's Barclays  BARC.L  and
Finland's Nordea  NDASE.ST  reported upbeat quarterly results.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2RH1Q6  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RH0AB
    Defensive sectors lent support to European bourses as
personal and household goods index  .SXQP  rose 0.7% on the back
of Unilever's  ULVR.L  third-quarter earnings beat.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RH0AH
    Luxury stocks were also higher after Birkin bag maker Hermes
 HRMS.PA  rose 0.8% on strong quarterly sales.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2RH1MW
    Cartier-owner Richemont  CFR.S  advanced 0.4% after HSBC
 HSBA.L  raised the brand to "buy" from "hold", citing its
leadership and momentum in the jewellery industry.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2RH1WR

 (Reporting by Anisha Sircar and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru;
editing by Uttaresh.V and Anil D'Silva)
 ((Anisha.Sircar@thomsonreuters.com;))