European shares flat, take a breather after global rally (updated)
22/11/2017 10:31
* STOXX up 0.1 pct
* Rise in the euro pressures exporters
* Investors await Hammond's UK budget
* Utilities lead gainers
(Adds more stocks, quotes)
By Julien Ponthus
LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - European shares traded only
slightly higher on Wednesday, losing some of the momentum that
pushed stocks in Asia and on Wall Street to new highs overnight
on continued faith in synchronised global economic growth.
The STOXX 600 .STOXX benchmark was up 0.1 by 1023 GMT with
European bourses trading sideways as a 0.1 percent rise in the
euro EUR= put pressure on exporters, notably on the
constituents of Germany's DAX .GDAXI , which shed 0.2 percent.
"I see very few people repositioning themselves on the
markets before a period of low liquidity like Thanksgiving,"
said Pierre Martin, a senior trader at Saxo Bank.
He argued that many investors had taken advantage of last
week's dip to take new positions on stocks but that in the
absence of major economic or corporate news, there was currently
little incentive for them to aggressively seek new
opportunities.
Norwegian media group Schibsted SBSTA.OL posted the
sharpest decline of the index after an offering of B-shares to
finance mergers and acquisitions in online classifieds. Its
shares retreated 7.1 percent
Utilities .SX6P posted the best sectoral performance in
Europe, with Germany's RWE RWEG.DE and Spain's Endesa ELE.MC
leading the pack with rises of 3 percent and 2 percent
respectively.
UBS upgraded RWE to "buy", saying coal and carbon risks may
have been overestimated, while Moody's raised its forecasts for
French power pricing, reflecting a rebound in commodity prices.
Akzo Nobel AKZO.AS rose 1.1 percent after it called off a
merger of equals with U.S. coatings company Axalta AXTA.N .
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1NR6UW
The FTSE .FTSE was up 0.3 percent, about two hours before
British finance minister Philip Hammond was due to present his
budget, under pressure to help unhappy voters as the country
faces faltering economic growth. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1NR5FG
While some traders said they were not holding their breath
for any major announcement, given the government's limited room
for manoeuvre, others were on the lookout for initiatives that
could impact UK housebuilders.
On the domestic UK corporate front, travel firm Thomas Cook
TCG.L was set for its worst trading day since the British EU
referendum in June 2016, falling 10.5 percent after reporting a
a fall in full-year profit margins. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1NS130
British drugs company BTG BTG.L was leading losers on the
FTSE as JP Morgan cut its target price on the stock.
SSP Group SSPG.L , which operates restaurants and bars at
travel locations, posted one of the best performances for
European blue-chips with a 6.5 percent jump after beating
expectations for full-year results and proposing a special
dividend.
British software firm Sage SGE.L was up 1.4 percent after
reporting a 10 percent rise in organic operating profit.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1NS1PH
(Reporting by Julien Ponthus; Editing by Georgina Prodhan)
(( For pan-European market data and news, click on codes in
brackets:
European Equities speed guide................... EUR/EQUITY
FTSEurofirst 300 index.............................. .FTEU3
STOXX Europe index.................................. .STOXX
Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... .PGL.STOXXS
Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................... .PGL.STOXXES
Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors................... .PGL.FTEU3S
Top 25 European pct gainers....................... .PG.PEUR
Top 25 European pct losers........................ .PL.PEUR
Main stock markets:
Dow Jones............... .DJI Wall Street report ..... .N
Nikkei 225............. .N225 Tokyo report............ .T
FTSE 100............... .FTSE London report........... .L
Xetra DAX............. .GDAXI CAC-40............... .FCHI
World Indices..................................... 0#.INDEX
Reuters survey of world bourse outlook......... EQUITYPOLL1
Western European IPO diary......................... WEU/IPO
European Asset Allocation........................ EUR/ASSET
Reuters News at a Glance: Equities................. TOP/EQE
Main currency report:................................. FRX/ ))
Keywords: EUROPE STOCKS/