European stocks head for another week of losses; EDF plunges on French power price cap
By Barbara Kollmeyer
European stocks fell Friday, with the technology sector bearing the brunt of losses as Wall Street stocks slipped for another day amid worries over inflation and a rough start to the earnings reporting season. EDF shares slid 20% after pulling guidance.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.7% to 482.36, following a modest decline on Thursday that snapped a two-session winning streak. The German DAX fell 0.6% and the French CAC 40 slid 0.5%, while losses were more modest for the FTSE 100 index , which eased 0.1%.
The U.S. dollar bounced after weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data, with the euro and British pound lower by 0.1% each. U.S. retail sales fell a bigger-than-expected 1.9%, but the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1% after a 2.5% slump Thursday. The week has been dominated by worries about inflation with Federal Reserve officials expressing a commitment to tackle it.
Results from big banks, to kick off fourth-quarter earnings season left investors flat with Citigroup (C), JPMorgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) all down on those results.
Data in Europe showed the German economy expand 2.7% in 2021, rebounding from a 4.6% drop in 2020, but still 2% below growth in 2019. In China, data showed the country's trade surplus hitting a record high in 2021, rising 29.9% to a fresh high of $3.36 trillion, while imports surged 30.1%, lifted in part by soaring commodity prices.
Among Europe's big tech names, shares of ASM International dropped nearly 3%, along with ASML Holding (ASML.AE), while Infineon Technologies slipped 0.6%. German business software group SAP (SAP.XE) bucked the weaker trend, with a gain of 1.7%.
EDF was the worst performer on the Stoxx Europe 600, as the French state-controlled utility late on Thursday pulled its guidance for the year, saying the government's new moves to curb higher electricity bills will have an estimated impact of up to 8.4 billion euros ($9.62 billion). Shares slid 14%.
Auto makers were among the gainers, with Volkswagen , Renault and Daimler Truck Holdings all rising by more than 2%.
Shares of health technology company Philips (PHIA.AE) were also near the top of the gainers list, with a rise of more than 3%.
-Barbara Kollmeyer
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 14, 2022 10:36 ET (15:36 GMT)
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