European Stock-Index Futures Drop; Deutsche Bank May Move
European stock-index futures declined after a two-week rally helped the Stoxx Europe 600 Index surge to a six-year high. U.S. equity-index futures were little changed, while Asian shares dropped.
Deutsche Bank AG may be active after Germany’s largest lender reported a surprise fourth-quarter loss. Anheuser-Busch InBev NV may move after agreeing to pay $5.8 billion to buy back South Korea’s Oriental Brewery Co. Ltd. U.K. homebuilders from Persimmon Plc to Taylor Wimpey Plc may be active after a report said London house-price growth slowed in January.
Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index (SX5E) expiring in March retreated 0.3 percent to 3,142 at 7:08 a.m. in London. Contracts on the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.1 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent.
The Stoxx 600 increased 1.8 percent last week, extending its gain since the start of the year to 2.3 percent, following a 17 percent rally last year. The equity gauge rose to 335.82, the highest level since Jan. 15, 2008, as mining companies advanced and the World Bank raised its global-growth forecasts.
Stocks in Asia fell, snapping three days of gains, after China reported slowing economic growth in the fourth quarter. Gross domestic product in the world’s second-biggest economy grew 7.7 percent from a year earlier, slowing from 7.8 percent a year ago. That still exceeded economists’ estimate for a 7.6 percent expansion.
U.S. markets will be closed today for a holiday commemorating the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
Surprise Loss
Deutsche Bank may move. The lender posted a pretax loss of 1.15 billion euros ($1.56 billion) in the fourth quarter because of 528 million euros in litigation-related expenses, as well as costs tied to its reorganization and charges to adjust credit, debt and funding valuations. The average estimate in a Bloomberg survey had called for a 628.5 million-euro pretax profit.
AB InBev may move. The world’s biggest beer maker agreed to buy back Oriental Brewery from KKR & Co. and Affinity Equity Partners Ltd. The deal has an enterprise value of $5.8 billion, according to a statement. AB InBev will pay for the acquisition from internal resources.
U.K. homebuilders from Persimmon to Taylor Wimpey may be active. Data today from Rightmove Plc, the operator of Britain’s biggest property website, showed asking prices in London increased 0.2 percent to 514,704 pounds ($850,000), after growing 10.6 percent last year. Last year’s increase was the fastest since 2006.
Source: Bloomberg
