European stocks on Wednesday were dragged lower, as investors received disappointing updates on manufacturing and services activity in the eurozone and saw a break in the recovery run for U.S. stocks.
How markets are moving
The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, -0.59% fell 0.8% to 377.60 as only the telecommunications group FXK, -0.18% posted a small gain. Tech and utility stocks were losing the most. On Tuesday, the benchmark rose 0.6%.
Germany’s DAX 30 index DAX, -0.72% fell 0.7% to 12,401.35, and Spain’s IBEX 35 IBEX, -0.99% dropped 1% to 9,799.40.
France’s CAC 40 PX1, -0.40% gave up 0.6% at 5,256.65, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 UKX, -0.23% shed 0.3% at 7,223.53.
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The euro EURUSD, -0.1216% bought $1.2324, down from $1.2339 late Tuesday in New York.
The yield on the 10-year German bond TMBMKDE-10Y, -4.39% fell 3 basis points to 0.70%, according to Tradeweb. Yields fall when prices rise.
What’s driving markets
Stocks across the continent opened lower, as the session got underway with preliminary February manufacturing and services data from France falling short of expectations. That followed figures from data firm Markit showing German manufacturing activity at a six-month low, and overall activity in the eurozone edged back from a near 12-year high.
European stocks also followed losses on Wall Street, where equities have been in recovery mode after leading a meltdown in global equities. U.S. stocks snapped a six-day winning streak on the market’s return from holiday Tuesday, as 10% slide in shares of retailer Walmart Inc. WMT, -10.18% hurt the S&P 500 Index SPX, -0.58% .
After European trade closes, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting, the last chaired by Janet Yellen, will be released. Investors will look for clues to the central bank’s thinking on interest rates, which can have a knock-on effect on global financial markets. The minutes are due 2 p.m. Eastern Time, or 7 p.m. London time.
Stock movers
Lloyds Banking Group PLC shares LLOY, +1.72% rose 1.7% after the lender said it’s launching a share buyback of up to £1 billion ($1.40 billion). In the bank’s first full-year results since returning to full private ownership, pretax profit of £5.28 billion for 2017 missed expectations of £5.89 billion.
Glencore PLC shares GLEN, +4.06% rallied 4%. The miner and commodities trader posted a more than fourfold rise in 2017 net profit for 2017, of $5.78 billion, and said it was considering acquisitions.
Economic data
The U.K.’s jobless rate increased unexpectedly for the first time in nearly two years, to 4.4% in the final quarter of 2017. The Office for National Statistics also said wages in the three months to December grew by an average 2.5%, slightly up from 2.4% in the January period. But wage growth is still outpaced by inflation which is running at 3%.