By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Russian stocks slid nearly 3% on Monday,
as the country faced the possibility of further sanctions related
to the conflict with Ukraine.
Marking a sixth day of losses, the MICEX Index fell 2.7% to
1,384.50, its first close below 1,400 in about two months,
according to FactSet data.
German stocks also declined, with the DAX 30 index falling 1.1%
to 9,612.05. The Bundesbank said geopolitical concerns hurt the
country's industrial output during the second quarter, in part
leading economic growth to stallod. The government's preliminary
GDP report is slated for release Aug. 14.
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has intensified since
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on
Thursday, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.
International anger toward the Russian government is growing, with
the Kremlin accused of not allowing investigators unhindered access
to the crash site as bodies of victims languish in railcars.
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron called on European leaders to
impose sanctions against the Russian oil, banking and defense
industries if the government continues supplying weapons and other
support to pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine, according to news
reports.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.5% to 337.95.
Among national markets, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index pulled back
0.3% to 6,728.44.. Shares of Tesco PLC gained 1.3% after the U.K.
supermarket chain named a new chief executive officer at the same
time that it warned business is "more challenging" than it
anticipated in its first-quarter interim statement in June.
Dave Lewis, currently president of Unilever PLC's personal-care
unit, will join Tesco on Oct. 1, succeeding Philip Clarke.
"Dave Lewis appears to be a shrewd appointment with successfully
executed turnaround operations under his belt, as well as stints in
both the States and Asia -- territories Tesco have struggled to
crack," said Marc Kimsey, senior trader at Accendo Markets, wrote
Monday.
Shares of rivals Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC fell 2.4% and J
Sainsbury PLC lost 2%.
Shares of home builders fell after property website Rightmove
said house prices fell 0.8% in July from June, marking the first
fall in prices this year. Barratt Developments PLC fell 2.6%,
Persimmon PLC dropped 2.3%, and property developers British Land
Co. shed 0.7%.
Off the FTSE 100, Taylor Wimpey PLC fell 1.8% and Berkeley Group
Holdings PLC gave up 2.3%.
Among other individual stocks, Banco Espírito Santo fell 3% in
the wake of Friday's filing for creditor protection by its parent
company, Portuguese conglomerate Espírito Santo International
SA.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index lost 0.7% to 4,304.74.
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