PARIS/LONDON/ZURICH (dpa-AFX) – Europe’s stock markets fell slightly on Thursday. They followed moderate guidelines from the USA and Asia. The EuroStoxx 50 fell by 0.3 percent to 5,905.85 points at midday.
Outside the euro area, there was also a slight decline. The British leading index FTSE 100 fell by 0.3 percent to 10,017.99 points. The Swiss SMI fell by 0.13 percent to 13,306.57 points.
This means that after the profits at the beginning of the year, a wait-and-see attitude became more and more established on the markets. This is even more true when important dates are coming up. “The focus now turns to the US jobs report on Friday,” said a commentary from Index Radar. “Overall, issues such as Greenland and Taiwan remain uncertain factors that can unleash volatility at any time.”
Construction stocks were among the weaker sectors. Saint-Gobain lost 3.6 percent after UBS downgraded its value from “Neutral” to “Sell” and lowered its price target from 92 to 78 euros. The sales recommendation for Saint-Gobain reflects more negative assessments of the construction of private houses and apartments in the EU and the USA as well as the commercial construction business in the EU, it was said.
Oil stocks were also among the losers. Shares in Shell (Shell (ex Royal Dutch Shell)) lost over two percent after a disappointing interim production report. RBC analysts spoke of a tough end to the year for the oil company. Profit and cash flow estimates are likely to come under pressure.
There were mixed signals from British retailers. Tesco lost 5.3 percent. Jefferies analysts spoke of some disappointing quarterly sales figures. AB Foods (Associated British Foods) even fell by over eleven percent after a weak interim report. Marks & Spencer (MarksSpencer) (MarksSpencer), however, rose by 1.4 percent. Deutsche Bank analysts pointed to the better-than-expected margin development in the latest figures.
The banking sector performed better, with BNP Paribas rising by 2.3 percent. UBS analysts upgraded the share from “Neutral” to “Buy” and raised the price target from 77.40 to 103.00 euros. With a discount of 32 percent to the European banking sector, the shares of the French financial institution appear too cheap in view of the capital build-up and the forecast profit growth of 50 percent in the period 2025 to 2028, according to the reasoning./mf/mis