Europe open: Markets lower after weak manufacturing data
European stocks were sharply lower on Wednesday morning, as investors digested weak manufacturing data from both sides of the Atlantic.
At 0837 BST, the Stoxx 600 was 0.8% lower at 384.90, as Germany's DAX fell by 0.8% to 12,160.36 and the French CAC 40 dropped by 0.9% to 5,548.83. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 was down 1.0% at 7,287.68.
Investor concerns over a global slowdown were heightened after the Institute for Supply Management’s US factory activity index declined to 47.8 for September from 49.1 the month before, missing an expected increase to 50.1 and reaching its lowest level in more than a decade.
ThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam said: "Investors have become anxious about the health of the global economic growth because yesterday's reading came on the heels of unsatisfactory figures from Europe which we saw earlier this week."
On Tuesday, the IHS/Markit final Eurozone September manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slipped to 45.7 from 47.0 in August, just ahead of estimates, but still at its lowest level since October 2012.
In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to unveil his "final" Brexit negotiation offer in an address at the Conservative Party conference during the day. Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said he believed the offer would fall short of EU requirements and be rejected.
"Boris knows this - the only narrative that matters is the one that shows the will of the people being frustrated by recalcitrant MPs and perfidious foreigners. The PM will ‘sell’ this pup to the Tory faithful in his conference speech but it’s all optics," he said.
Among individual stocks, Flutter Entertainment, formerly Paddy Power, was the top riser on the Stoxx 600 after it agreed an all-share merger with Nasdaq and Toronto-listed Stars Group, a provider of technology-based product offerings in the global gaming industries.
Grenke also racked up strong gains after the German leasing company raised its forecast for new business following a strong third quarter.
Pernod Ricard climbed after analysts at Jefferies upgraded the French spirits maker to 'buy'.
(Editing by Josh White, Michele Maatouk and Frank Prenesti)