Europe close: Brexit doubts dampen investor sentiment
European stocks finished on a mixed note again on Thursday as investors eyed the latest twist in Brexit trade deal negotiations, even as the European Central Bank delivered on expectations for further easing.
The Stoxx Europe 600 dipped 0.44% to 393.15, alongside a 0.33% drop to 13,295.73 for Germany's Dax while France's Cac-40 managed to eke out a gain of 0.05% to 5,549.65.
Bank and Technology were among the weakest areas of the market, with their respective Stoxx 600 sector subindices retreating by 2.05% and 1.22%, respectively.
The Oil&Gas sector sub-index meanwhile was ahead by 1.53% as front-dated Brent crude oil futures climbed 3.13% to $50.39 a barrel on the ICE.
Overnight, the UK Prime Minister and the head of the European Commission met for dinner and agreed to extend talks until Sunday, but for some observers the odds of clinching even a skinny Brexit deal were in fact falling.
In parallel, US congressmen on Capitol Hill agreed a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown and reports appeared to indicate a building consensus on the need for fresh stimulus measures to be in place before some of the current support programmes lapsed on 26 December.
"Fortunately while the UK and EU are looking as far from a deal as ever, the US could be getting their act together in a bid to push a fresh stimulus package across the line," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank gave the 'green light' to a €500bn increase in its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme, taking it to €1.85trn, as expected by economists.
And European Union heads of state clinched a deal at a two-day summit to unblock its €1.1trn seven-year budget and €750bn of Covid-19 aid funds after reaching an agreement with Hungary and Poland.
In equity news shares in online food delivery group Ocado fell 7% after the company raise core earnings guidance, while home meal-kit supplier HelloFresh was the top gainer, with the shares up 4%.
Industrial and electronics products group Electrocomponents saw its shares rise after unveiling two acquisitions worth £150m and a £180m share placing.
Automotive retailer Inchcape said full-year profits would be “materially ahead” of expectations and was considering reinstating its dividend after a better-than-expected performance in November.
The company on Thursday said it expected pre-tax profit, excluding exceptionals, would be materially ahead of market consensus of £108m as the impact of the second UK Covid-19 lockdown was not as bad as first feared.