(RTTNews.com) – The European markets ended Wednesday’s session with mixed results. After a positive performance in the first half of the day, the markets fluctuated in the afternoon. Investors were focused on corporate news, following a deluge of earnings reports. Economic data was on the light side both in Europe and in the United States.
Concerns over Greece’s bailout and worries over political risks in Europe and the United States persisted Wednesday, which left investors feeling cautious. Falling crude oil prices also had a negative impact on investor sentiment. Crude prices dropped below $ 52 a barrel after U.S. crude inventories increased by much more than expected.
The French economy is set to expand at a slightly slower pace in the first three months of the year versus the previous quarter, the Bank of France signaled Wednesday.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.32 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.07 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.34 percent.
The DAX of Germany dropped 0.05 percent, but the CAC 40 of France rose 0.26 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.04 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.10 percent.
In Frankfurt, Commerzbank decreased 1.72 percent and Deutsche Bank lost 1.80 percent.
In Paris, Vinci climbed 4.68 percent. The construction and concession firm forecast higher revenue and profits this year after reporting an increase in net income for fiscal year 2016.
Sanofi rose 0.99 percent. The drug giant said that it has worked pretty hard to address FDA concerns over manufacturing deficiencies at its Le Trait facility.
Air France-KLM jumped 4.84 percent after reporting a 5.3 percent increase in passenger traffic for January.
Luxury goods house Hermes dropped 1.78 percent despite the company posting higher fourth-quarter sales, driven mainly by its leather goods arm.
In London, Rio Tinto declined 1.67 percent. The mining giant proposed to pay a higher than expected dividend and unveiled a share buyback program after reporting the first gain in annual profit since 2013.
Oil & gas producer Tullow Oil slumped 5.42 percent after posting a $ 597m full-year loss after write-offs and impairments.
Shire Plc fell 0.58 percent, a day after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a civil action against one of its subsidiaries.
Hargreaves Lansdown dropped 1.59 percent. The investment firm reported a 21 percent rise in first-half pretax profit, but net new business inflows dipped by 16 percent year-on-year.
BHP Billiton fell 3.38 percent. The company has asked unions to maintain minimum services at Escondida copper mine after wage talks failed to produce an agreement.
Asset manager Aberdeen Asset Management gained 0.92 percent on a brokerage upgrade.
Redrow jumped 3.98 percent as the homebuilder posted another set of record results for the six months to December 31.
ABB fell 3.39 percent in Zurich. The engineering firm reported an increase in new business but cautioned that 2017 would likely be dominated by market uncertainty.
Pesticides and seeds group Syngenta advanced 1.08 percent after saying it is making progress in winning regulatory approval for its $ 43 billion deal with ChemChina.
TomTom NV sank 8.18 percent in Amsterdam after reporting a fourth-quarter net loss of 5.5 million euros compared to profit of 20.8 million euros last year.
Carlsberg declined 3.09 percent in Copenhagen. The brewer’s full year adjusted attributable net profit was 3.88 billion kroner, compared to 4.29 billion kroner last year.
A.P. Moller-Maersk dropped 4.98 percent after it reported a fiscal 2016 loss from continuing operations of $ 1.9 billion compared to profit of $ 925 million, prior year.
Insurer Storebrand rallied 3.28 percent in Oslo after posting forecast-beating earnings.
Business insolvencies at German local courts in November declined 10.8 percent from a year ago, figures from Destatis showed Wednesday. The number of business insolvencies totaled 1,677 in November.
Spain’s industrial production grew at a slower pace in December, the statistical office INE reported Wednesday. Industrial production advanced by adjusted 1.9 percent year-on-year in December, weaker than the 2.8 percent expansion seen in November.
On an unadjusted basis, industrial output declined 1.6 percent annually, reversing prior month’s 4.1 percent increase. Economists had forecast output to grow 2.8 percent.
Permanent job placements in the U.K. grew at the slowest pace in four months in January, the Report on Jobs compiled by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and IHS Markit showed Wednesday. The number of people placed in permanent jobs rose further in January, though the rate of growth easing to its slowest since September 2016.
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