By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Nestlé gains, Adidas falls
Nestlé gains, Adidas falls
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- These stocks made notable moves in
European trade Thursday.
Advancers
Nestlé SA rose 3.7% after the food giant said it will launch an
offer to buy back up to eight billion Swiss francs ($8.8 billion)
of its shares. The company's first-half earnings fell nearly
10%.
Zurich Insurance Group AG shares tacked on 3.2% as the company
said second-quarter profit rose 6%, with its general insurance
business benefiting from a lack of weather-related losses.
Commerzbank AG shares gained 2.6% after the financial-services
firm said second-quarter profit more than doubled, driven by a
stronger performance at its retail unit and lower overall loan-loss
provisions.
Decliners
Coca-Cola HBC AG sank over 5% after the second-biggest bottler
for Coca-Cola Co. (KO) warned of a "continuing challenging volume"
in its markets such as Russia. Also: Russia retaliates with bans on
food imports from EU, U.S.
Adidas AG fell 3.4% as management said it will move quickly in
its efforts to boost sales and profit after the sportswear retailer
acknowledged it won't meet business targets for next year.
Old Mutual PLC shares lost 1.3% after the financial-services
firm's pretax profit fell financial services dropped to 564 million
pounds ($949.9 million), from GBP805 million a year earlier.
Rheinmetall AG fell 3% after the German industrial conglomerate
cut its sales and earnings forecasts as Berlin canceled an export
license tied to a deal that Rheinmetall had in Russia.
Also read: European stocks waver
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