23/06/2003 16:02
European stocks declined for the second day in three on concern profit growth may fail to justify a rally that has lifted benchmark stock indexes to their biggest quarterly gains in more than three years.
Heineken NV, the world's third-largest brewer, had its steepest drop in more than six years. The Dutch company led declines by beermakers after it said sales are lagging forecasts.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index slid 19.05, or 0.8 percent, to 2457.16 as of 1:45 p.m. in London. The Stoxx 600 slipped 0.7 percent to 207.3, with food and drinks companies accounting for about a fifth of the decline.
The indexes had climbed 18 percent through Friday from the end of March, on track for their biggest gains since the fourth quarter of 1999, as the end of the Iraq war and a drop in oil prices boosted optimism corporate profits were set to recover. Some investors remain unconvinced.
``Company news coming in the second quarter will be disappointing,'' Guy Stern, chief investment officer at Credit Suisse Asset Management in Frankfurt, which oversees $350 billion in assets, said in an interview. ``I don't believe we've seen the beginning of a bull market yet.''
Gains by the Stoxx 50 and 600 have taken the indexes back to levels reached in mid-January. They are still about 50 percent of their first-half 2000 values.
Benchmark indexes slipped in 12 of the 16 Western European markets open today. Germany's DAX Index fell 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 Index slid 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.5 percent. Luxembourg is closed for a holiday.
September futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index of companies based in the 12 countries sharing the euro fell 0.1 percent to 2483. The index declined 1.3 percent to 2481.50.
Beermakers Decline
Heineken tumbled 9.5 percent to 30.84 euros, its biggest drop since Sept. 13, 1996. First-half profit isn't growing because the war in Iraq, slower economic growth, and a deadly respiratory disease crimped sales, it said.
``It doesn't look like Heineken has everything under control,'' said Lex Werkheim, who helps manage the equivalent of $288 million at Eureffect BV, an Amsterdam-based stockbroker. He sold his Heineken stake today. ``The stock has gone from reasonable growth to no growth.''
SABMiller Plc, the world's second-largest brewer, shed 3.9 percent to 411.75 pence. Interbrew SA, the Belgian maker of Stella Artois and Labatt beer, lost 3.7 percent to 19.14 euros.
Carlsberg A/S, the world's fifth-largest brewer, dropped 3.5 percent to 248 Danish kroner. A joint venture in Asia isn't developing as planned and it removed representatives of its Thai partner from the board of Carlsberg Asia, it said.
Raising Funds
Munich Re slipped 3.4 percent to 92.10 euros. The world's No. 1 reinsurer may need to raise capital this year to improve its balance sheet, Financial Times Deutschland said, citing a report by credit rating company Standard & Poor's. An unidentified Munich Re spokesman said the company isn't currently planning a capital increase, the newspaper said.
HVB Group, Germany's second-biggest bank, dropped 1.7 percent to 14.79 euros. Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG, the Vienna- based bank owned by HVB, said it plans to sell 38 million new shares for between 27 euros ($31) and 31 euros apiece. HVB Chief Executive Officer Dieter Rampl had indicated the company might price the unit at between 29 euros and 34 euros a share.
Italian Dividends
Italy's Mib30 Index fell 2 percent as some of the benchmark's biggest stocks started trading without the right to the most recent dividends.
Eni SpA, Europe's fourth-largest oil company, slid 5.1 percent to 13.30 euros. The company is paying a dividend of 75 cents a share. Enel SpA, Italy's biggest utility, slumped 6.9 percent to 5.59 euros. The company's dividend amounts to 36 cents a share.
Telecom Italia SpA, the nation's largest phone company, slipped 2.3 percent to 7.95 euros. The company pays a dividend of 18 cents a share.
EasyJet Plc, Europe's biggest low-cost carrier, jumped 6.5 percent to 224.5p after Merrill Lynch & Co. raised its recommendation of the shares to ``buy'' from ``neutral'' as the brokerage said it expects fares to decline less in the fiscal second half than previously forecast.
Unilever, the world's largest maker of food and soap, is scheduled to give a sales update at 2 p.m. London time. The company might say the pace of growth for its 400 top brands will double in the second quarter, keeping the British-Dutch company on track to meet its full-year revenue forecast, analysts said. The stock fell 2.3 percent to 544.5p in London.
Abbey National Plc (ANL LN)
Carlsberg A/S (CARLB DC)
EasyJet Plc (EZJ LN)
Enel SpA (ENEL IM)
Eni SpA (ENI IM)
Heineken NV (HEIA NA)
HVB Group (HVM GR)
Interbrew SA (INTB BB)
Lloyds TSB Group Plc (LLOY LN)
Munich Re (MUV2 GR)
SABMiller Plc (SAB LN)
Telecom Italia SpA (TI IM)
Telefonica Moviles SA (TEM SM)
Unilever (ULVR LN)
Heineken NV, the world's third-largest brewer, had its steepest drop in more than six years. The Dutch company led declines by beermakers after it said sales are lagging forecasts.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index slid 19.05, or 0.8 percent, to 2457.16 as of 1:45 p.m. in London. The Stoxx 600 slipped 0.7 percent to 207.3, with food and drinks companies accounting for about a fifth of the decline.
The indexes had climbed 18 percent through Friday from the end of March, on track for their biggest gains since the fourth quarter of 1999, as the end of the Iraq war and a drop in oil prices boosted optimism corporate profits were set to recover. Some investors remain unconvinced.
``Company news coming in the second quarter will be disappointing,'' Guy Stern, chief investment officer at Credit Suisse Asset Management in Frankfurt, which oversees $350 billion in assets, said in an interview. ``I don't believe we've seen the beginning of a bull market yet.''
Gains by the Stoxx 50 and 600 have taken the indexes back to levels reached in mid-January. They are still about 50 percent of their first-half 2000 values.
Benchmark indexes slipped in 12 of the 16 Western European markets open today. Germany's DAX Index fell 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 Index slid 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.5 percent. Luxembourg is closed for a holiday.
September futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index of companies based in the 12 countries sharing the euro fell 0.1 percent to 2483. The index declined 1.3 percent to 2481.50.
Beermakers Decline
Heineken tumbled 9.5 percent to 30.84 euros, its biggest drop since Sept. 13, 1996. First-half profit isn't growing because the war in Iraq, slower economic growth, and a deadly respiratory disease crimped sales, it said.
``It doesn't look like Heineken has everything under control,'' said Lex Werkheim, who helps manage the equivalent of $288 million at Eureffect BV, an Amsterdam-based stockbroker. He sold his Heineken stake today. ``The stock has gone from reasonable growth to no growth.''
SABMiller Plc, the world's second-largest brewer, shed 3.9 percent to 411.75 pence. Interbrew SA, the Belgian maker of Stella Artois and Labatt beer, lost 3.7 percent to 19.14 euros.
Carlsberg A/S, the world's fifth-largest brewer, dropped 3.5 percent to 248 Danish kroner. A joint venture in Asia isn't developing as planned and it removed representatives of its Thai partner from the board of Carlsberg Asia, it said.
Raising Funds
Munich Re slipped 3.4 percent to 92.10 euros. The world's No. 1 reinsurer may need to raise capital this year to improve its balance sheet, Financial Times Deutschland said, citing a report by credit rating company Standard & Poor's. An unidentified Munich Re spokesman said the company isn't currently planning a capital increase, the newspaper said.
HVB Group, Germany's second-biggest bank, dropped 1.7 percent to 14.79 euros. Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG, the Vienna- based bank owned by HVB, said it plans to sell 38 million new shares for between 27 euros ($31) and 31 euros apiece. HVB Chief Executive Officer Dieter Rampl had indicated the company might price the unit at between 29 euros and 34 euros a share.
Italian Dividends
Italy's Mib30 Index fell 2 percent as some of the benchmark's biggest stocks started trading without the right to the most recent dividends.
Eni SpA, Europe's fourth-largest oil company, slid 5.1 percent to 13.30 euros. The company is paying a dividend of 75 cents a share. Enel SpA, Italy's biggest utility, slumped 6.9 percent to 5.59 euros. The company's dividend amounts to 36 cents a share.
Telecom Italia SpA, the nation's largest phone company, slipped 2.3 percent to 7.95 euros. The company pays a dividend of 18 cents a share.
EasyJet Plc, Europe's biggest low-cost carrier, jumped 6.5 percent to 224.5p after Merrill Lynch & Co. raised its recommendation of the shares to ``buy'' from ``neutral'' as the brokerage said it expects fares to decline less in the fiscal second half than previously forecast.
Unilever, the world's largest maker of food and soap, is scheduled to give a sales update at 2 p.m. London time. The company might say the pace of growth for its 400 top brands will double in the second quarter, keeping the British-Dutch company on track to meet its full-year revenue forecast, analysts said. The stock fell 2.3 percent to 544.5p in London.
Abbey National Plc (ANL LN)
Carlsberg A/S (CARLB DC)
EasyJet Plc (EZJ LN)
Enel SpA (ENEL IM)
Eni SpA (ENI IM)
Heineken NV (HEIA NA)
HVB Group (HVM GR)
Interbrew SA (INTB BB)
Lloyds TSB Group Plc (LLOY LN)
Munich Re (MUV2 GR)
SABMiller Plc (SAB LN)
Telecom Italia SpA (TI IM)
Telefonica Moviles SA (TEM SM)
Unilever (ULVR LN)
Related Articles
