The BAE Systems’ booth at the world’s leading trade show for naval and maritime safety in Le Bourget, north of Paris. BAE Systems shares tumbled yesterday after the British defence group warned that earnings would drop this year on cuts to government spending in its main market, the US.
AFP/London
Europe’s main stock markets wavered yesterday following a slump for share prices across Asia after poorly-received Chinese data and on the outlook for US stimulus.
The blockbuster sale of smartphone messenger WhatsApp to Facebook and weak earnings at US retail giant Wal-Mart also weighed on sentiment.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day up 0.24% at 6,812.99 points.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dropped 0.43% to 9,618.85 points, but the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.33% to 4,355.49 points.
“Another piece of poor data from China ... with markets getting no favours from Fed minutes either after the January minutes re-affirmed intentions to wind down stimulus by year-end,” said Toby Morris, a senior trader at CMC Markets.
US stocks rose yesterday though investors were sour on Facebook’s huge acquisition of WhatsApp.
In midday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.42% at 16,106.10.
The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.33% to 1,834.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained just 0.13% to 3,657.80.
The Nasdaq was weighed down by Facebook, which tumbled 1.5% after its eye-popping cash-and-stock deal worth up to $19bn for smartphone messaging service WhatsApp.
Dow member Wal-Mart Stores dropped 1.86% after posting fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that showed an 0.4% fall in US sales.
In foreign exchange deals, the European single currency fell to $1.3696 from $1.3733 late in New York on Wednesday.
The euro slipped to 82.27 British pence from 82.33 pence, while the pound dipped to $1.6647 from $1.6680.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell to $1,316.25 an ounce from $1,320.50 on Wednesday.
On the corporate front, shares in BAE tumbled 8.5% to 400.40 pence after the company warned that earnings would drop this year on cuts to government spending in its main market the US.
BAE said that 2013 net profit had slumped 82% owing to an impairment charge on its US business totalling £865mn ( $1.441bn, €1.052bn).
French oil services group Technip meanwhile skyrocketed 9.02% to 69.99 euros after confirming its objectives for this year and next.
Danone shares advanced 1.45% to €51.70 despite the French dairy food giant reporting a 15.0-percent slump in net profits last year, blaming a false health scare, high milk prices and currency factors in some emerging markets.
Danone said it expected to return to strong, lasting and profitable growth in the second half of this year, saying that 2014 sales would rise by 4.5-5.5% and that operating margins would be broadly stable.
