European stocks fell to their lowest level in almost 10 months amid concern that a slowdown in the world’s largest economy is derailing global growth. Asian shares and U.S. index futures declined.
Pandora A/S tumbled 72 percent as the Danish jewelry maker posted earnings that missed estimates. Metro AG (MEO) slid 5.4 percent as Germany’s biggest retailer said operating profit dropped as its Media-Saturn consumer-electronics unit posted the first loss in at least 20 years. Wacker Chemie AG (WCH) plunged 11 percent.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated 1.4 percent to 258.44 at 1:33 p.m. in London, the lowest level since Oct. 5. European stocks became the first major region to enter a so-called correction yesterday, with the Stoxx 600 dropping 10 percent from this year’s highest level as falling Spanish and Italian bonds showed the sovereign-debt crisis is spreading.
“There’s a vicious circle between markets and the economy, with poor economic data refueling negative sentiment,” Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas (BNP) Fortis Global Markets, said in a phone interview from Brussels. “There are enough elements on the table to create a nervous environment.”
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in September declined 0.9 percent today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.8 percent.
Spain, Italy Bonds
Italian and Spanish 10-year bonds dropped today, pushing yields up to euro-era records versus benchmark German bunds, on concern that slowing growth will hamper efforts to tame the nations’ debt loads.
Wrangling between Republicans and Democrats over increasing the U.S.’s debt ceiling has also fueled concern. Congressional leaders voiced confidence that the Senate will approve today a debt-limit compromise after the House voted 269-161 to approve the measure, which boosts the national debt limit enough to fund the government until 2013.
Even so, both S&P and Moody’s Investors Service are weighing whether to cut the nation’s credit rating. S&P said last month that the political impasse has boosted to 50 percent the chance that it will downgrade the U.S. from AAA within three months.
“The focus has now shifted to the global economy with manufacturing deteriorating across most global economies,” said Chris Weston, a trader at IG Markets in Melbourne. “We are clearly seeing an investment strike in global equity markets and a deteriorating economic picture just detracts the investment case from stocks as an attractive asset class.”
U.S. Economy
A report today is forecast to show that U.S. personal spending stagnated in June, according to economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
More European companies have missed analysts’ estimates since July 11 than in any earnings season in at least five years. About 51 percent of companies in the Stoxx 600 have posted earnings that fell short of projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, while 78 percent of S&P 500 companies that reported earnings have exceeded forecasts.
Pandora tumbled 72 percent to 40.60 kroner, its biggest drop on record, after cutting its full-year forecast and reporting that Chief Executive Officer Mikkel Vendelin Olesen has left the company. The Danish jeweler that sold shares to the public last year also posted second-quarter earnings before interest and taxes of 440 million kroner ($84 million), compared with an average estimate of 611 million kroner in a Bloomberg survey of four analysts. Pandora’s sales in July plunged about 30 percent, the company added.
Metro Drops
Metro dropped 5.4 percent to 35.79 euros after saying that second-quarter net income fell to 40 million euros ($57 million), missing a 87.8 million-euro analyst estimate. Sales were little changed at 15.7 billion euros. Analysts had estimated revenue of 15.8 billion euros, according to the average of 24 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Wacker Chemie retreated 11 percent to 115.75 euros after saying profit rose to 142.7 million in the second quarter, missing the 152 million-euro average estimate in a Bloomberg survey of seven analysts.
Northumbrian Water Group Plc (NWG) advanced 4.3 percent to 468.5 pence. Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd., the company controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing, agreed to buy Northumbrian Water for about 2.4 billion pounds ($3.9 billion). Cheung Kong Infrastructure, known as CKI, agreed to pay 465 pence for each Northumbrian Water share. That is 3.5 percent more than yesterday’s closing price.
Royal DSM NV gained 1.8 percent to 39.5 pence. The world’s largest maker of vitamins reported second-quarter net income of 392 million euros, beating the 338 million-euro average estimate in a Bloomberg survey of six analysts. Heerlen, Netherlands- based DSM said that it will make good progress toward its 2013 forecasts.
Rotork Plc (ROR) soared 10 percent to 1,728 pence as the company predicted that full-year sales will be “materially ahead” of previous forecasts because of strong order intake.
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