Europe open: Shares muted as inflation worries weigh; Entra soars
European stocks continued in downbeat mood at the opening on Wednesday as investors continued to fret about rising inflation and supply-chain issues.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.3% in early deals, with the UK’s FTSE down 0.53% on weaker-than-expected GDP figures.
Official data revealed the UK economy grew a touch less than expected in August despite the easing of Covid measures.
The economy grew 0.4% in August following a 0.1% contraction in July - weaker than consensus expectations for a 0.5% increase and leaves GDP 0.8% below its pre-pandemic level in February 2020, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.
July’s contraction was revised down from a previous estimate of 0.1% growth.
In equity news, shares in Norwegian property company Entra soared 7.58% to the top of the Stoxx after Swedish rival Balder said Tuesday that it intends to submit a 24.5 billion kroner mandatory offer after building a 33.67% stake.
Under the Norwegian Securities Trading Act, it must make a mandatory offer to acquire all the shares it doesn't currently hold.
German business software group SAP shares rose after the company raised its full-year outlook for a third time following a strong quarterly showing as more customers shift their IT operations to the cloud.
Online food ordering and delivery service Just Eat Takeaway.com fell to the bottom of the index, down 3.4%, after its third-quarter orders fell short of analysts’ estimates.
Man Group shares rose 6.6% after reporting that funds under management at the end of the third quarter were 3.1% higher compared with the prior three months, with positive momentum carrying over into the fourth quarter.