Most European stocks retreat
Friday, 19 March 2010
March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Most European stocks fell as a German official said Greece should turn to the International Monetary Fund if it requires a bailout, overshadowing a rally by health-care companies. Asian shares and U.S. futures dropped.
Total SA, the third-largest European oil company, declined 1.1 per cent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended selling the shares. Enel SpA slipped 1.1 per cent after Italy's largest utility halved its dividend to reduce debt. SGL Carbon SE slid 4.2 per cent after posting a full-year loss. GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Britain's biggest drugmaker, jumped the most in nine months.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed at 261.23 as of 8:40 a.m. in London, as three stocks declined for every two that advanced.
The benchmark gauge has soared 65 per cent since March 9 last year, reaching a 17-month high yesterday, as governments and central banks around the world maintained low interest rates and committed more than $12 trillion to stimulate the economy. The measure retreated for the first two months of the year amid concern that Greece will struggle to rein in Europe's biggest budget deficit.
"Our long-held fears that there will be very major sovereign problems as far as the eye can see have started to materialise," Jim Reid, a London-based strategist at Deutsche Bank AG, wrote in a report. "In the near term we would like to keep fairly neutral on European equities."
While Greek government proposals to reduce its deficit led Standard & Poor's to affirm the nation's investment-grade credit rating on March 16, the shift in Germany underscored the rift in the European Union as the global economy emerges from the worst slump since World War II. Michael Meister, the chief finance spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, said attempting a Greek rescue without the IMF "would be a very daring experiment."
Greece may seek aid from the IMF over the April 2 to April 4 Easter weekend, Dow Jones said today, citing a senior Greek official it didn't name.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index expiring in June fell 0.2 per cent before reports on jobless claims and the cost of living. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 per cent.
At 8:30 a.m. in Washington, a report from the Labor Department may show initial claims for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits dropped to 455,000 last week, the fewest in two months, from 462,000 the prior week, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
A separate report may show U.S. consumer prices climbed 0.1 per cent in February, while the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators at 10:00 a.m. may indicate a 0.1 per cent gain after increasing 0.3 per cent in January.
Total fell 1.1 per cent to 42.36 euros as Goldman Sachs added the shares to its "conviction sell" list.
Enel dropped 1.1 per cent to 4.15 euros. The company proposed cutting its dividend by 49 per cent to 25 cents and said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will be little changed this year and next.
The company said 2009 net income rose 1.9 per cent to 5.4 billion euros ($7.39 billion) thanks to a one-time gain of 970 million for the sale of renewable assets to Acciona SA.
SGL Carbon, the world's largest maker of carbon and graphite products, slid 4.2 per cent to 22.15 euros after reporting a 2009 loss of 60.3 million euros, compared with a year-earlier profit of 190.5 million euros.
Total SA, the third-largest European oil company, declined 1.1 per cent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended selling the shares. Enel SpA slipped 1.1 per cent after Italy's largest utility halved its dividend to reduce debt. SGL Carbon SE slid 4.2 per cent after posting a full-year loss. GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Britain's biggest drugmaker, jumped the most in nine months.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed at 261.23 as of 8:40 a.m. in London, as three stocks declined for every two that advanced.
The benchmark gauge has soared 65 per cent since March 9 last year, reaching a 17-month high yesterday, as governments and central banks around the world maintained low interest rates and committed more than $12 trillion to stimulate the economy. The measure retreated for the first two months of the year amid concern that Greece will struggle to rein in Europe's biggest budget deficit.
"Our long-held fears that there will be very major sovereign problems as far as the eye can see have started to materialise," Jim Reid, a London-based strategist at Deutsche Bank AG, wrote in a report. "In the near term we would like to keep fairly neutral on European equities."
While Greek government proposals to reduce its deficit led Standard & Poor's to affirm the nation's investment-grade credit rating on March 16, the shift in Germany underscored the rift in the European Union as the global economy emerges from the worst slump since World War II. Michael Meister, the chief finance spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, said attempting a Greek rescue without the IMF "would be a very daring experiment."
Greece may seek aid from the IMF over the April 2 to April 4 Easter weekend, Dow Jones said today, citing a senior Greek official it didn't name.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index expiring in June fell 0.2 per cent before reports on jobless claims and the cost of living. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 per cent.
At 8:30 a.m. in Washington, a report from the Labor Department may show initial claims for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits dropped to 455,000 last week, the fewest in two months, from 462,000 the prior week, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
A separate report may show U.S. consumer prices climbed 0.1 per cent in February, while the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators at 10:00 a.m. may indicate a 0.1 per cent gain after increasing 0.3 per cent in January.
Total fell 1.1 per cent to 42.36 euros as Goldman Sachs added the shares to its "conviction sell" list.
Enel dropped 1.1 per cent to 4.15 euros. The company proposed cutting its dividend by 49 per cent to 25 cents and said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will be little changed this year and next.
The company said 2009 net income rose 1.9 per cent to 5.4 billion euros ($7.39 billion) thanks to a one-time gain of 970 million for the sale of renewable assets to Acciona SA.
SGL Carbon, the world's largest maker of carbon and graphite products, slid 4.2 per cent to 22.15 euros after reporting a 2009 loss of 60.3 million euros, compared with a year-earlier profit of 190.5 million euros.