European stocks were moving lower on Thursday as stimulus talks sputtered in Washington and investors awaited the latest weekly U.S. jobless claims numbers for clues to economic recovery.
There’s an atmosphere of uncertainty swirling around Congress as negotiations for the next stimulus package have stalled.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats and the Trump administration are “miles apart” on a new fiscal plan, with little prospect of any new negotiations bearing fruit in the near future.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.25 percent to 373.95, snapping a four-day winning streak.
The German DAX and France’s CAC 40 index slid around 0.1 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.9 percent.
RTL Group shares fell nearly 2 percent. The German digital media group expects full-year 2020 revenue and adjusted EBITA to be significantly below 2019 and other recent years.
SMA Solar Technology soared 14 percent. The solar energy equipment supplier has confirmed its sales and earnings guidance for the 2020 fiscal year.
RWE advanced 1.5 percent. The utility and energy supplier said it will reach the upper end of its 2020 outlook for both core and operating profit.
Struggling conglomerate ThyssenKrupp slumped 16 percent after posting a widened loss for the third quarter of its fiscal year.
Telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom rallied 2 percent after raising its guidance for the year.
Planemaker Airbus fell over 1 percent. The company said it regretted a U.S. decision to keep in place 15 percent tariff on its aircraft despite European Union actions to comply with World Trade Organization rulings.
BP Plc declined 1.7 percent and Royal Dutch Shell gave up 2.2 percent after the International Energy Agency said the Covid-19 pandemic has cast a long shadow over oil demand.
TUI AG slumped 4 percent after the tour operator said it is considering a rights issue or a sale of part of the business.
Housebuilders were rising amid signs of recovery in the U.K. housing market. Taylor Wimpey rose 1.2 percent and Persimmon jumped over 2 percent.
Precision engineer and manufacturing company Renishaw lost 9 percent after reporting lower annual revenue.
Transport provider National Express plummeted 12.7 percent after posting a large first-half loss.
Dutch life insurer Aegon NV plunged 14 percent after its first-half earnings missed forecasts.
In economic releases, German consumer price index fell 0.1 percent in July, after a 0.9 percent rise in June, as initially estimated, final data from Destatis revealed. On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.5 percent July, as estimated.
The French employment rate fell 1.6 points to 64.4 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since 2017, statistical office Insee said. Employment among youth logged a marked fall of 2.9 points to reach 26.6 percent, which was the lowest since the records began in 1975.
U.K. housing market recovery gained further momentum in July as the stamp duty holiday helped to boost demand, survey data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed today.
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