Dipo Olowookere
By Investors Hub
European stocks extended declines for a fourth consecutive sessions on Tuesday as fresh political worries surrounding Britain, Italy and Greece sapped investors’ appetite for risk and helped spur demand for safe-haven assets.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.3 percent at 390.02 in late opening deals, extending losses for the fourth straight session.
The German DAX was down about 0.1 percent while France’s CAC 40 index was losing as much as 0.8 percent.
The UK’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3 percent as traders returned to their desks following a long holiday weekend.
Banks led losses after Deutsche Bank analysts cut their rating on regional banking stocks to “underweight”. UniCredit, Commerzbank, Societe Generale and Barclays fell over 1 percent each.
International Consolidated Airlines Group lost almost 3 percent as British Airways grapples with a massive IT system failure over the weekend that led to hundreds of flights being canceled.
Ryanair Holdings dropped 1.5 percent. The discount carrier said that the slump of the British currency after the Brexit vote will likely lead to a 5-7 percent decline in average ticket prices for the full financial year.
German luxury car maker BMW edged up marginally. The company has halted production of certain models this week because of a shortage of steering gears supplied by Robert Bosch.
In economic releases, French GDP grew 0.4 percent sequentially in the first quarter, slower than the 0.5 percent increase seen in the fourth quarter but a tad higher then the initial estimate of 0.3 percent, second estimate from the statistical office Insee showed.
A gauge of French consumer confidence strengthened in May to the highest level in nearly ten years, while consumer spending rose for the first time in three months in April.
Economic sentiment and business confidence data from the euro area are slated for release later in the day.
