European shares log third week of declines on China, tariff jitters

FRANKFURT: Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 logged its third consecutive week of declines on Friday, hurt by underwhelming stimulus measures from China as well as concerns about tariffs under a Trump presidency hurting economic growth.

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed down 0.6%, with China-exposed sectors such as miners and luxury losing more than 3% each. Most major subsectors were in the red barring defensive sectors such as real estate and healthcare. China unveiled a 10 trillion yuan ($1.40 trillion) debt package on Friday, disappointing investors who had speculated on a fiscal bazooka. Metal prices retreated in response, weighing on miners such as Rio Tinto and Glencore.

“The optimism seen on Wall Street has been entirely absent from the UK index, as heavyweight mining stocks shed ground after the National Policy Committee failed to unveil anything of note,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

Richemont dropped 6.6% after the Cartier jewellery brand owner reported a 1% dip in sales during the three months to the end of September.

Most French luxury stocks fell, with LVMH losing 3.3% and Kering shedding 8%.

The European benchmark logged weekly losses of 0.2%, also as investors assessed the likelihood of tariffs after Donald Trump recaptured the US presidency with a sweeping victory earlier in the week.

“Most people ahead of the election said Trump is maybe good for the US, but it’s not good for the rest of the world, and it’s particularly not good for regions that depend on exporting to the US consumer, which is very much Europe,” said Guy Stear, head of developed markets strategy at Amundi.

Vistry slumped 15.5% after Britain’s largest homebuilder by annual output issued its second full-year profit warning in a month.

British Airways-owner IAG jumped 7.2% after its quarterly operating profit jumped 15%, beating estimates.

Pirelli rose 2.8% after the Italian tyre maker’s operating profit rose more than expected in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Wall Street stood at record highs as the Trump rally continued, while the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as widely expected.