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- Dubai gold price drops - again - ahead of April 30's 'Akshaya Trithiya'
- Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25
- ECB set for deeper interest rate cutting cycle
- 'Qatar-Belgium Business Meeting reviews bilateral investment co-operation'
- Qatar makes impact in strengthening integration frameworks in Arab capital markets
- Sharjah explores economic and trade partnerships with Belgium
- UAE listings to get more diverse with tech startup's IPO on the cards
- stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit
- Egypt's annual unemployment rate eases to 6.6%
- Arab Bank Group profits grow 7% to $271m in Q1
04/08/2009 00:00 AST
European equities inched lower on Tuesday after hitting a nine-month high in the previous session, with investors pausing for breath after an impressive rally that saw a key index surging 17 percent in three weeks.
Weaker crude oil CLc1 and metals prices put pressure on commodities stocks, while financial shares traded mixed.
At 0709 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.1 percent at 940.75 points. But the index, which slumped 45 percent in 2008, is still up 46 percent since falling to a lifetime low in early March.
"If you run up so fast and so far, its quite natural that you have some profit taking," Luc Van Hecka, chief economist at KBC Securities, said.
"But the overall trend is certainly positive and the market is of the opinion that the worst is over. It is responding quite logically to the fact that earnings have generally been better than expected," he added.
Energy stocks tracked crude oil prices CLc1, which fell 0.7 percent. BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSb.L), BG Group (BG.L), Tullow Oil (TLW.L), Repsol (REP.MC) and Total (TOTF.PA) shed between 0.2 and 1 percent.
Miner Xstrata (XTA.L) was down 1.3 percent after posting a sharp drop in profit as a result of weak metals prices and warning that hopes of a quick recovery may be premature.
Among banks, Asia-focused Standard Chartered (STAN.L) fell 3.4 percent. It unveiled a surprise $1.6 billion equity fundraising, but reported a better than expected 10 percent increase in its half-year profit. [ID:nL4317381]
UBS (UBSN.VX) was up 0.6 percent. The bank said it remained cautious about its prospects after client withdrawals spurred by protracted U.S. tax litigation dragged the Swiss bank into another big quarterly loss on Tuesday. [ID:nL3704235]
Across Europe, UKs FTSE 100 index .FTSE, Germanys DAX and Frances CAC 40 .FCHI were down 0.2-0.4 percent.
Reuters
| Ticker | Price | Volume |
|---|
| Index | Closing | Change |
|---|---|---|
| NIKKEI 225 | 36,581.76 | -251.51 (-0.68 |
| DAX | 18,699.40 | 181.01 (0.97 |
| S&P 500 | 5,626.02 | 30.26 (0.54 |
28/04/2025
Spiralling inflation in the Euro-Zone was finally stabilized last year after an unprecedented cycle of policy rate increases by the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB began the record tightening se
The Peninsula
28/04/2025
Egypt's unemployment rate declined to 6.6 percent in 2024, down 0.4 percent from the previous year, driven by lower joblessness across both urban and rural areas and by growth in sectors such as agri
Arab News
28/04/2025
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have agreed to jointly pay approximately $15 million to settle Syria's arrears to the World Bank, a move set to unlock renewed development funding for the war-torn country.
Arab News
28/04/2025
From fresh tariffs and fracturing alliances to recession warnings, the headlines scream turmoil. But for investors willing to tune out the noise and focus on the underlying data, there are solid reas
Trade Arabia
26/04/2025
Lebanon has received preliminary approval to increase the value of a World Bank reconstruction loan to $400 million from $250 million, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber said in a statement on Wednesday.
Reuters
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