(RTTNews.com) – The European markets ended Wednesday’s session in negative territory. Following 2 days of gains, investors took the opportunity to cash in some profits. Traders also turned more cautious ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s
testimony before the U.S. Congress, which will begin on Thursday.
The prevailing opinion among traders is that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates at their December meeting. Traders will also be paying close attention to Yellen’s comments following the victory of Donald Trump
in last week’s presidential election. Trump stated during the campaign that he would replace Yellen if elected.
The European Commission recommended a fiscal expansion of up to 0.5 percent of GDP next year for the euro area that is expected to contribute to a balanced policy mix, to support reforms and to strengthen the recovery.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 0.09 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.77 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.10 percent.
The DAX of Germany dropped 0.66 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.78 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.63 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.06 percent.
In Frankfurt, Bayer dropped 4.14 percent as the company announced plans to raise four billion euros via convertible notes to help finance the $ 66 billionMonsanto deal.
Hugo Boss sank 10.24 percent. The company announced at its Investor Day presentation that it expects to return to growth in 2018.
Leoni plunged 11.14 percent after the cable and harnessing manufacturing firm reported a drop in nine-month profit on lower sales.
Wirecard jumped 7.53 percent after the financial services and technology company backed its full-year EBITDA view.
Volkswagen fell 1.19 percent on a Bloomberg report that the automaker has reached an agreement with U.S. environmental regulators to fix or buyback around 80,000 polluting Audi, VW and Porsche vehicles with tainted 3-liter diesel engines.
In Paris, Bouygues climbed 2.88 percent. The industrial group confirmed its 2016 outlook after reporting better-than-expected profit for the first nine months of the year, helped by an improved performance at its telecom unit.
In London, Aggreko tumbled 4.36 percent. The portable power provider reported a 7 percent drop in third-quarter underlying revenues, but expects full-year results to be broadly in line with expectations.
British Land fell 2.39 percent after the retail property giant swung to pretax loss for the first half of fiscal 2017.
Barratt Developments forfeited 0.56 percent. The company stated in its trading update that overall trading remains in-line with market expectations.
Engine maker Rolls-Royce weakened by 1.92 percent after keeping its 2016 outlook for revenue, profit and cash unchanged.
ABN Amro dropped 4.13 percent in Amsterdam. The lender is considering cutting 1,500 jobs as part of a cost-reduction plan after reporting a 19 percent jump in third-quarter profit.
The U.K. unemployment rate dropped to the lowest in 11 years in the third quarter, but the pace of growth in employment eased, signaling that the labor market could be faltering.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent in the third quarter, the lowest since July to September 2005, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. A year ago, the rate was 5.3 percent. Economists had expected the rate to remain at 4.9 percent, as seen in the three months to August.
U.K. labor productivity growth weakened in the third quarter due to slower GDP growth amid a rise in average weekly hours worked and stronger employment, the Office for National Statistics reported Wednesday.
Output per hour, the main measure of labor productivity, increased 0.2 percent in the third quarter, much slower than the 0.6 percent increase seen in the second quarter.
British households’ finance outlook worsened in November to the weakest level in three years on higher inflation expectations, while their financial pressures remained unchanged, results of a survey by IHS Markit and financial information provider Ipsos Mori revealed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted Household Finance Index, or HFI, came in at 43.7 in November, same score as in October.
With an increase in prices for goods offset by a drop in prices for services, the Labor Department released a report on Wednesday showing that U.S. producer prices unexpectedly came in flat in the month of October.
The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand was unchanged in October after rising by 0.3 percent in September. Economists had expected another 0.3 percent increase.
Industrial production in the U.S. was unchanged in the month of October, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, with a steep drop in utilities output offsetting a jump in mining.
The Fed said industrial production came in flat in October after dropping by a revised 0.2 percent in September. Economists had expected production to match the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. held steady in the month of November, the National Association of Home Builders said in a report on Wednesday. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index came in at 63 in November, unchanged from October. The unchanged reading matched economist estimates.
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