FILE PHOTO: The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, July 23, 2019. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo
July 24, 2019
(Reuters) – European shares opened flat on Wednesday, hit by dour signals from Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>, Daimler <DAIGn.DE> and Aston Martin <AML.L> as well as a slide in commodity-linked stocks, while investors awaited manufacturing and services data.
Shares in Germany’s biggest bank, in the midst of sweeping changes to reboot its business, dived more than 4% after it reported a bigger than expected loss, while those in luxury car maker Aston sank 23% after it cut its annual forecast for wholesale sales.
Positive signs on U.S.-China trade talks and the prospect of a supportive message from the European Central Bank on Thursday offset those blows, however, along with some positive earnings such as those from French carmaker Peugeot <PEUP.PA> and German chemicals maker Covestro AG <1COV.DE>.
By 0712 GMT, the pan-European stocks benchmark STOXX 600 <.STOXX> was steady compared to the previous close.
Basic materials <.SXPP> slid 1.5%, with a fall in iron ore prices and a Credit Suisse downgrade to ‘underperform’ taking shares of Rio Tinto <RIO.L> down 3%.
Shares of Infineon <IFXGn.DE>, STMicroelectronics <STM.MI>, and Siltronic <WAFGn.DE> rose between 1.6% and 2.6% after results from Texas Instruments Inc <TXN.O> hinted that a global slowdown in microchip demand would not be as long as feared. Chip stocks helped the technology sector <.SX8P> rise 0.8%.
(Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)
