Oil Firms, Bank Pressure Europe Stocks
Oil majors pressured European stock markets on Tuesday as crude prices moved lower, while heavyweight banks declined as last week’s risk rally continued to run out of steam.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP dropped 0.7% to 273.14. On Monday, the index shed 0.3%, as investors paused for breath after stocks rallied on Friday on the back of fresh quantitative easing measures from the U.S.
Chemicals firm Akzo Nobel NV AKZA was among biggest decliners, down 5%, after it said Chief Executive Ton Buechner is taking temporary leave as a result of a medical condition. See: Akzo Nobel CEO to take leave until October
For the broader stock markets, oil firms added the most pressure, as oil prices continued to decline. Crude-oil prices for October delivery CLV2 dropped more than $2 Monday on talk of a possible Strategic Petroleum Reserve release. Prices continued to push lower on Tuesday. See: Oil remains lower after prior-day tumble
Norway’s Statoil ASA STL fell 1.1%. Among U.K. oil firms, BP PLC BP. BP slumped 2.5%, BG Group PLC BG. lost 2.9% and Royal Dutch Shell PLC RDSB RDS.B ticked 0.5% lower.
Losses for U.K. oil majors weighed on the FTSE 100 index UKX, which shed 0.7% to 5,853.89.
Elsewhere, investors were waiting for the German ZEW survey to give an indication of the economic mood in Germany. Spain was also in the spotlight ahead of a sale of 12- and 18-month bills.
The IBEX 35 index IBEX dropped 1.4% to 8,035.50, weighed by Banco Santander SA SAN SAN off 1.7% and BBVA SA BBVA BBVA down 2.4%.
In France, banks were also on the decline. Credit Agricole SA ACA gave up 2.8%, Société Générale SA GLE lost 2.7% and BNP Paribas SA BNP fell 1.8%.
The CAC 40 index PX1 tripped 0.9% to 3,522.04, further dragged lower by Total SA FP TOT falling 1.3%.
L’Oréal SA OR gained 0.7% after Société Générale lifted the stock to buy from hold.
Among German stocks, Commerzbank AG CBK led the charge south and lost 2.9%. Deutsche Bank AG DBK DB tripped 2.6%.
The DAX 30 index DAX slumped 0.9% to 7,334.11.
Marketwatch
