EUROPEAN shares ended lower on Wednesday as weakness in banking shares weighed, while losses in energy heavyweights Equinor and TotalEnergies following corporate updates only compounded the fall.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.3 per cent lower, with shares in Spain lagging regional peers, down 1.2 per cent.
Equinor shed 7.8 per cent after the Norwegian oil and gas producer said it would cut its overall cash returns to shareholders this year by US$3 billion.
TotalEnergies also slipped 3.2 per cent after the French group reported a bigger-than-expected decline in its adjusted income for the fourth quarter.
The Bank sector dipped 0.9 per cent, with UBS losing 2.7 per cent after at least two brokerages reduced their price target on the Swiss lender.
Keeping steep losses at bay, technology continued its recent strong run, advancing 0.7 per cent, taking its streak of daily gains to six.
The automobile sector was also amongst top gainers, with a 0.5 per cent increase helmed by Italian automaker Stellantis’ 1.1 per cent jump to a record high during the day.
TeamViewer jumped 5.4 per cent after the German software developer reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue.
Vestas advanced 6.4 per cent after the Danish wind turbine maker beat fourth-quarter operating earnings forecasts.
On the day’s data front, German industrial production fell more than expected in December, marking the seventh monthly decline in a row.
“All told, we remain of the view that high energy costs and weak domestic and external demand will cause German industrial output to decline further in 2024,” said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics.
“This is one of the reasons why we expect the German economy to stagnate this year.”
Meanwhile, European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel told the Financial Times that the central bank must be patient with cutting interest rates as inflation could flare up again and recent data confirm fears that the ‘last mile’ of getting price growth down will be the hardest.
Yields across government bonds in Europe were largely stable on Wednesday.
Among other movers, DHL lost 5.2 per cent after Germany’s state-owned KfW bank cut its stake in the German logistics group.
Handelsbanken rose 5.1 per cent after the Swedish lender proposed a higher-than-expected dividend.
British supermarket group Sainsbury’s set a new cost savings target of £1 billion (S$1.75 billion) over three years and promised to boost returns for shareholders. Its shares, however, fell 6.1 per cent.
Finnish utility Fortum lost 5.0 per cent after reporting a bigger-than-expected drop in October-December comparable operating profit. REUTERS
