EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks End Lower, Weighed By G-20 Gloom, Caution Before French Debate
March 20 2017 - 1:08PM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
Stoxx Europe 600 gives back part of last week's advance
European stocks finished lower Monday, with the week starting on
a downbeat note in the wake of a Group of 20 meeting that stoked
tensions about global trade.
The Stoxx Europe 600 gave up 0.2% to end at 377.68. The
pan-European index on Friday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-dip-ahead-of-potential-trade-tension-at-g-20-gathering-2017-03-17)
rose 0.2% and logged its strongest closing since December 2015. The
benchmark last week gained 1.4%.
Among decliners Monday was Deutsche Bank AG (DBK.XE) (DBK.XE) .
Shares fell 3.7% as the German lending heavyweight said it will
issue 687.5 million new shares at EUR11.65 each, to raise EUR8
billion ($8.6 billion) as it moves to shore up capital. Deutsche
Bank earlier this month
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deutsche-bank-seeks-to-raise-85b-in-capital-2017-03-05)
said it would make such a move.
G-20: Over the weekend, finance ministers and central bankers
from the world's largest economies
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/little-economic-common-ground-found-at-g-20-meeting-2017-03-19)
met in the German spa town of Baden-Baden. The G-20 finance
officials dropped a pledge against protectionism in a policy
statement, a move pushed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin.
"Even though the changes do not necessarily imply an intention
to impose trade remedies and ramp up protectionism, we continue to
think that the U.S. administration will pursue a more aggressive
position on international trade and pivot away from
multilateralism," said Citigroup economist Ebrahim Rahbari, in a
research note. "Our base case is still cautiously benign, but we
see a major rise in protectionism as one of the main risks to the
global outlook."
The European oil group fell 1.1% as oil prices dropped,
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-falls-after-g-20-backtracks-on-anti-protectionist-language-2017-03-20)
with some analysts saying pressure came as the G-20 officials
dropped the stance against protectionism. West Texas Intermediate
oil recently traded down about 0.5%.
France: The top five candidates running in France's presidential
race will debate tonight. The debate follows an Ipsos poll on
Friday that showed far-right candidate Marine Le Pen with a 1
percentage point lead over centrist hopeful Emmanuel Macron, at 27%
to 26%, in first-round voting set for April 23. Macron picked up a
percentage point in the latest poll.
"A strong showing by Le Pen could add momentum to her campaign
and considering her anti-European views, it may prove a cause for
euro weakness," wrote Charalambos Pissouros, senior analyst at
IronFX Global.
The poll, published in Le Monde, also showed Macron winning over
Le Pen in second-round voting, by 61% to 39%.
Brexit: The U.K. government said British Prime Minister Theresa
May will trigger the Article 50 bill on March 29
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-prime-minister-to-trigger-start-of-brexit-process-on-march-29-2017-03-20)
to begin the process of leaving the European Union. The pound swung
to an intraday low of $1.2335 after earlier trading at a three-week
high above $1.24. It was recently at $1.2345.
Indexes: Germany's DAX 30 index fell 0.4% to end at 12,052.90,
and France's CAC 40 shed 0.3% to finish at 5,012.16.
The FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to close at 7,429.81
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-slips-as-the-pound-hits-3-week-high-2017-03-20).
The euro was buying $1.0739, essentially unchanged from $1.0738
late Friday in New York.
Economic data: German producer prices rose 0.2%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-producer-prices-rise-the-most-since-2011-2017-03-20)
in February, as prices at factory gates recorded their strongest
annual rise in over five years.
Eurozone wages increased at a slightly faster pace
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-wage-growth-rises-but-still-sluggish-2017-03-20)
in the final three months of last year, said Eurostat.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2017 12:53 ET (16:53 GMT)
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