Stock trading session
Bloomberg
European stocks dropped, snapping a five-day rally, as worse-than-expected Chinese trade data added to evidence the global economy is slowing. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also declined.
Drillisch AG (DRI) slid 1.4 percent after the German provider of low-cost telephone services said second-quarter net income plunged 43 percent. ThyssenKrupp AG (TKA) climbed 2 percent as Germany’s biggest steelmaker reported its first quarterly profit after three consecutive losses.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.4 percent to 269.33 in London. The benchmark Stoxx 600 has gained 1.4 percent so far this week, its 10th successive weekly increase, amid better-than-estimated company earnings. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.4 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 0.6 percent.
“Whilst markets have recently been rallying on bad news -- in the expectation that it will lead to further stimulus from the central banks -- the deterioration in the fundamentals is becoming a bit harder to ignore,” said Jonathan Sudaria, a trader at Capital Spreads in London. “Traders may be disappointed if their thirst for stimulus isn’t satiated as soon as they expect.”
The Stoxx 600 (SXXP) climbed for a fifth day Thursday as a report showed China’s inflation cooled, increasing speculation that policy makers will do more to stimulate the economy, according to Bloombereg.
China’s export growth collapsed and imports and new yuan loans trailed estimates in July, reports Friday showed.
Outbound shipments increased 1 percent from a year earlier and imports rose 4.7 percent, the customs bureau said. The growth in July exports compared with the 8 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey and 11.3 percent in June. Analysts estimated a 7 percent gain in imports after a 6.3 percent increase in June.
New local-currency lending was 540.1 billion yuan ($85 billion), lower than all 30 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey, after 919.8 billion yuan in June.
Reports Thursday showed China’s industrial-output growth unexpectedly slowed to a three-year low and inflation cooled in July, while investment and retail sales missed estimates.
Drillisch declined 1.4 percent to 8.34 euros. The company’s second-quarter net income dropped to 3.9 million euros ($4.8 million) from 6.8 million euros a year earlier, and earnings per share in the same period declined by 33 percent to 8 euro cents.
Aspo Oyj (ASU1V) lost 5.8 percent to 5.65 euros after the Finnish logistics company said it expects full-year operating profit to drop “significantly” from 2011 and earnings per share dropping “slightly.”
ThyssenKrupp advanced 2 percent to 15.97 euros. Net income from continuing operations increased 16 percent to 238 million euros in the fiscal third quarter from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were 122 million euros, topping analysts’ projection for 83.4 million euros.
Schibsted gained 4.8 percent to 195.10 kroner as second- quarter pretax profit of 442 million kroner ($75 million) beat analysts’ estimate for 441 million kroner. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were 596 million kroner, compared with a forecast for 586.4 million kroner.