By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Banking shares fell in Europe Thursday,
led by Banco Espírito Santo, amid a deluge of earnings reports.
Decliners
Banco Espírito Santo SA tanked 42% in Lisbon. The shares had
been suspended earlier in the day after the Portuguese lender
reported a record loss for the second quarter.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) fell 2.8% after the U.K. lender
said profit fell sharply in the first half of the year due to a
number of legacy charges.
Adidas AG slumped 15% after the German sportswear retailer
issued a profit warning for 2014 and pushed its targets back to
2015, citing risks surrounding Russia.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG lost 7.3% after the airline reported
second-quarter earnings below expectations.
Alcatel-Lucent SA slid 6.7% after the French network-equipment
maker reported a loss for the second quarter.
Metro AG gave up 6.1%. The German retailer swung to an
unexpected loss in its third fiscal-quarter due to a strong euro
and disposals of business units.
Telefonica SA(TEF) slipped 1.2%. The Spanish telecoms major said
second-quarter profit rose 4.9%, but that revenue continued to fall
in Latin America and most of Europe.
Afren PLC sank 26%. The oil-exploration company said it has
suspended its chief executive officer, Osman Shahenshah, and its
chief operating officer, Shahid Ullah, after discovering
"unauthorized payments" potentially made for their benefit.
Gainers
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) rose 2.7% after the oil giant said its
second-quarter profit more than doubled, as it benefited from
higher liquid-petroleum prices and higher prices for specific
products.
Subsea 7 SA added 1.9% after the Norwegian seabed-to-surface
engineering contractor said it swung to a profit in the second
quarter.
German health-care group Fresenius SE put on 3.7% after
reporting a rise in second-quarter profit and raising its sales
outlook.
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