European stocks dropped for a fourth straight week, the longest stretch of losses since March, as oil retreated and concern mounted that earnings reports will show the economic slump is far from over.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC and Total SA slid more than 3 percent as crude headed for the biggest weekly drop since January. Aviva PLC led insurers lower on speculation it will cut its dividend.
Renault SA, France’s second-largest automaker, sank 11 percent as chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn said the expiration of state-backed sales incentives will offset any improvement in demand next year.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index declined 3.4 percent in the past week to 197.25, the lowest since April. The measure has slumped 8.2 percent since June 11 on speculation share prices have outpaced the outlook for economic growth after a three-month rally pushed valuations to 25.4 times earnings, the highest level since 2004.
“We are still in a consolidation phase after the gains we saw in March and April,” said Daniel Knuchel, who oversees about US$3 billion as chief investment officer at AAM Privatbank AG in Zurich. “The risk appetite has clearly retreated since then and sentiment is less positive. Markets are very news driven and investors are waiting for the earnings season.”
The IMF forecast the global economy will shrink 1.4 percent this year before expanding 2.5 percent next year. In April, the Washington-based lender had predicted a 1.3 percent contraction this year, followed by 1.9 percent growth next year.
National benchmark indexes fell in all 18 western European markets. The UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 2.6 percent and France’s CAC 40 retreated 4.4 percent. Germany’s DAX dropped 2.8 percent as Porsche SE declined.
Shell, Europe’s biggest oil company, decreased 3.8 percent in London. BP and Total, the second and third-largest, slid 3.7 percent and 4.6 percent respectively.
Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, tumbled 19 percent, dragging a gauge of insurers 6.7 percent lower for the biggest decline among 19 industry groups in the STOXX 600.
“We estimate that Aviva cannot rule out reducing its dividend distribution by 20 percent at least this year,” CA Cheuvreux analyst Jean D’Herbecourt in Paris wrote in a report on Tuesday, reducing his recommendation on the stock to “underperform” from “outperform.”
Bloomberg’s analysis and research showed on Friday that the insurer may reduce its interim dividend next month to £0.0875 a share from £0.1309 last year.
Infineon Technologies AG surged 12 percent. Europe’s second-largest chipmaker agreed to sell its Wireline Communications business to an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital Corp for 250 million euros (US$346 million).
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‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed