Europe close: Stocks slip as investors monitor US stimulus, vaccine news
European shares slipped on Wednesday as investors looked for direction on US stimulus measures and the pace of vaccine rollouts across the continent.
Commenting on the market backdrop, IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp told clients: "The steady gains of recent sessions appear to have lulled many into a false sense of security, which has been rudely dispelled by the slight weakness in equity markets in early trading.
"Indeed the main action has been in FX markets, which have seen further weakness for the US dollar as CPI came in only in line with forecasts, arguably giving the Biden administration further room for fiscal stimulus."
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.23% to 409.47, alongside a 0.56% drop for the German Dax to 13,932.97 while the FTSE Mibtel dipped 0.15% to 23,264.68.
Euro/dollar was little changed, drifting 0.05% lower to 1.2125 while gold futures were up by 0.32% at $1,843.3/oz. on COMEX.
In equity news, shares in paper and packaging giant Smurfit Kappa rose after it posted forecast-beating final earnings, boosted by strong demand in Europe and America.
Grenke shares dipped despite the company saying that the sudden departure of chief operating officer Mark Kindermann did not raise doubts about its financial health.
The company's share price has been on a roller-coaster ride after fraud allegations, denied by the company, by shortseller Fraser Perring’s Viceroy Research.
Dutch Bank ABN Amro shares fell even as the company reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter net profit.
German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp jumped 6.44% after it raised its full-year outlook on the back of higher demand.
Shipping line Maersk was down 6.8% despite forecasting a surge in demand for container shipping that would boost first quarter earnings.
Shares in Swedish sports product company Thule Group rose 5% as the company reported a rise in fourth quarter sales driven by higher demand.
Shares in drinks giant Heineken retreated as the company announced plans to cut about 8,000 jobs, in an effort to restore operating margins to pre-pandemic levels after a sharp decline in profit because of coronavirus restrictions.