European stock markets struggled for direction on Wednesday after the final reading of the euro-zone services PMI confirmed growth in the sector, but fell short of expectations.
While Spain, France and Germany numbers disappointed, Italy came out above expectations bringing the EMU composite index to 53.5 vs 53.9 expected.
Separate report showed on an annual basis Eurozone GDP increased 0.9% in Q1, up from the 0.5% rise registered the previous quarter. On a quarterly basis Q1 GDP edged up 0.2%, following a 0.2% increase in Q4, as expected.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index was marginally higher at 343.53, after posting a 0.5% loss on Tuesday.
Among country-specific indexes on Wednesday, Germany’s DAX 30 index was flat, while France’s CAC 40 index was slightly lower. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% after the UK PMI report that showed the index was 58.6 against 58.2 expected.
Shares of Volkswagen AG dropped 1.2% after the car maker said it had placed more than 10 million new shares at €191 a share, raising €2 billion.
On a more upbeat note, shares of Credit Suisse Group AG climbed 2% after Goldman Sachs lifted the bank to buy from neutral and added it to its conviction buy list.
Goldman Sachs also lifted Deutsche Bank AG to neutral from sell, sending the shares 0.5% higher.
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