Investing.com - European stocks closed lower Monday, after an early rally, despite a successful Italian government bond auction and hopes for fresh interventions by global central banks supporting sentiment, as global growth worries weighed on equities.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gave back 0.30%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.27%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.50%.
Helping to initially support stocks, Italy saw borrowing costs rise only slightly after it auctioned the full targeted amount of EUR8 billion of 12-month government bonds at an average yield of 1.69%, up from 1.55% previously.
However, sentiment weakened after official data showed that Japan’s economy grew 0.3% in the three months to June, just half as much as expectations for a 0.6% expansion, from an upwardly revised 1.2% in the first quarter as export demand was hit by the euro zone debt crisis.
The data came directly on the heels of a report Friday revealing Chinese exports dropped sharply in July, while imports also slowed.
Investors have viewed recent evidence of a slowdown in global economic growth as increasing the likelihood that world central banks will implement more easing measures to spur the economic recovery.
Germany’s biggest panel-maker Solarworld tumbled 11.02%, extending earlier losses, after saying it sees lower full-year revenue in 2012 from a year earlier and reporting a second-quarter net loss of EUR161 million.
Nokia also tumbled 1.72% amid reports the smartphone maker may soon offer new shares at a “signficant” discount.
On the upside, financial stocks pushed higher, led by Italian lenders Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, up 2.48% and 2.47% respectively.
France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas also added to gains, with shares advancing 1.99% and 1.70%, while German Deutsche Bank added 0.32%.
In London, FTSE 100 edged down 0.07%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys declined 0.20% and 1.34%, while other mining companies such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dropped 0.62% and 0.22% respectively.
More additional bearish news includes energy giant Anglo American retreated 0.45% and BP saw shares ease 0.04%, while oil and gas engineer Petrofac plunged 6% although it reported first-half net profit of USD325 million, beating the average analyst estimate of USD314 million.
In the financial sector, Standard Chartered remained sharply higher, with shares up 1.36%, as the U.K. lender and New York regulators reportedly discussed a settlement amount to resolve the inquiry into whether the bank’s records hid transactions tied to Iran.
Meanwhile, shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland fell 0.22% and HSBC Holdings added 0.15%, while Lloyds Banking rose 0.25% and Barclays climbed 0.95%.
Earlier in the day, Barclays’ new chairman David Walker told U.K. newspaper The Sunday Telegraph that he’ll undertake a top-to-bottom review of the embattled business, adding that he isn’t wedded to any of his predecessor’s policies.
In the U.S., equity markets followed lower with the Dow down 0.64%, the broad based S&P 500 giving back 0.44% and the tech heavy Nasdaq down 0.49% in midsession trade
Meanwhile Monday, Greek gross domestic product contracted by 6.2% in the three months to June, less than the 7.0% contraction forecast by economists and slightly less than the 6.5% contraction seen in the first quarter.
Investors are anticipating U.S. retail sales and PPI as well as the ZEW economic sentiment numbers for the euro zone on Tuesday.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gave back 0.30%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.27%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.50%.
Helping to initially support stocks, Italy saw borrowing costs rise only slightly after it auctioned the full targeted amount of EUR8 billion of 12-month government bonds at an average yield of 1.69%, up from 1.55% previously.
However, sentiment weakened after official data showed that Japan’s economy grew 0.3% in the three months to June, just half as much as expectations for a 0.6% expansion, from an upwardly revised 1.2% in the first quarter as export demand was hit by the euro zone debt crisis.
The data came directly on the heels of a report Friday revealing Chinese exports dropped sharply in July, while imports also slowed.
Investors have viewed recent evidence of a slowdown in global economic growth as increasing the likelihood that world central banks will implement more easing measures to spur the economic recovery.
Germany’s biggest panel-maker Solarworld tumbled 11.02%, extending earlier losses, after saying it sees lower full-year revenue in 2012 from a year earlier and reporting a second-quarter net loss of EUR161 million.
Nokia also tumbled 1.72% amid reports the smartphone maker may soon offer new shares at a “signficant” discount.
On the upside, financial stocks pushed higher, led by Italian lenders Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, up 2.48% and 2.47% respectively.
France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas also added to gains, with shares advancing 1.99% and 1.70%, while German Deutsche Bank added 0.32%.
In London, FTSE 100 edged down 0.07%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys declined 0.20% and 1.34%, while other mining companies such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dropped 0.62% and 0.22% respectively.
More additional bearish news includes energy giant Anglo American retreated 0.45% and BP saw shares ease 0.04%, while oil and gas engineer Petrofac plunged 6% although it reported first-half net profit of USD325 million, beating the average analyst estimate of USD314 million.
In the financial sector, Standard Chartered remained sharply higher, with shares up 1.36%, as the U.K. lender and New York regulators reportedly discussed a settlement amount to resolve the inquiry into whether the bank’s records hid transactions tied to Iran.
Meanwhile, shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland fell 0.22% and HSBC Holdings added 0.15%, while Lloyds Banking rose 0.25% and Barclays climbed 0.95%.
Earlier in the day, Barclays’ new chairman David Walker told U.K. newspaper The Sunday Telegraph that he’ll undertake a top-to-bottom review of the embattled business, adding that he isn’t wedded to any of his predecessor’s policies.
In the U.S., equity markets followed lower with the Dow down 0.64%, the broad based S&P 500 giving back 0.44% and the tech heavy Nasdaq down 0.49% in midsession trade
Meanwhile Monday, Greek gross domestic product contracted by 6.2% in the three months to June, less than the 7.0% contraction forecast by economists and slightly less than the 6.5% contraction seen in the first quarter.
Investors are anticipating U.S. retail sales and PPI as well as the ZEW economic sentiment numbers for the euro zone on Tuesday.