Dipo Olowookere
By Investors Hub
European stocks have moved modestly lower on Tuesday as German investor confidence data disappointed and the Trump-Kim summit ended with the signing of a joint statement that gave few details on how the goals set by both sides would be achieved.
While the German DAX Index has edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent and the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent.
British American Tobacco is marginally lower in London after releasing its first-half trading statement.
AstraZeneca has also moved to the downside. The British pharmaceutical firm announced that it would discontinue global clinical trials for lanabecestat, a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen shares have also slumped after the German precision mechanical engineering company announced it is on track to meet medium-term targets.
On the other hand, Carrefour has rallied in Paris. The food retailer is partnering with Google to make groceries available on the U.S. search engine’s new dedicated shopping site in France.
Casino Guichard-Perrachon shares have also jumped. The supermarket company aims to sell non-core assets worth about 1.5 billion euros ($1.77 billion) by early 2019 to reduce debt.
Zurich Insurance Group has advanced after announcing the successful placement of 350 million Swiss francs of senior notes.
In economic news, German investor confidence declined more-than-expected in June to its lowest level in over five-and-a-half years, survey data from the Centre for European Economic Research showed.
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany shed 7.9 points in June to stand at -16.1 points, the Mannheim-based think tank said. Economists had expected a score of -14.
Separately, the U.K.’s ILO jobless rate remained at 4.2 percent in the three months ended April, the Office for National Statistics reported.
There were 1.42 million unemployed people, 38,000 fewer than for November 2017 to January 2018 and 115,000 fewer than for a year earlier.
