By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets moved lower on
Thursday, breaking the longest winning streak of the year, as
investors digested the latest round of earnings reports and
disappointing data from the U.S.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.8% to 329.21, after closing
higher for a sixth-straight day on Wednesday.
With a busy day on the earnings front, several prominent firms
helped push the pan-European benchmark lower after reporting
results. Shares of BNP Paribas SA slumped 4.1% after the French
bank said it was hit by a $1.1 billion legal provision, pushing
fourth-quarter profit down 76%.
Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) lost 4.1% after the
U.K. bank posted a full-year loss as provisions for mis-selling
payment-protection insurance continued to weigh on its bottom
line.
Shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC slumped 16% in London after
the aerospace and defense company warned that it expects no revenue
growth in 2014 for the first time in 10 years. For 2013, the
company reported a 41% drop in profit.
FLSmidth & Co. AS slid 7% after the Danish engineering firm
said it swung to a loss in the fourth quarter and cut its
dividend.
The broader losses in Europe came after a solid winning streak,
spurred by dovish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman
Janet Yellen and by reassurance from European Central Bank
President Mario Draghi that the bank stands ready to ease policy
further if needed.
On Wednesday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney was in the
spotlight after the U.K. central bank updated its forward-guidance
framework and indicated interest rates could rise in 2015, rather
than in 2016 as earlier estimated. Read: Forward Guidance 2.0: Is
Carney just digging with a larger shovel?
U.S. Fed chief Yellen was also supposed to testify before
Congress on Thursday, but the meeting was postponed due to a
snowstorm expected to hit Washington.
Instead, investors focused on the latest round of data out of
the U.S. The Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0.4% in
January, marking a bigger slide than the 0.1% drop expected by
economists polled by MarketWatch.
Meanwhile, initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose by 8,000
last week to 339,000.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street.
In Europe, most indexes were also on the decline. The U.K.'s
FTSE 100 index dropped 0.9% to 6,614.33, France's CAC 40 index lost
0.6% to 4,280.49, and Germany's DAX 30 index fell 0.4% to
9,499.91.
Tate & Lyle PLC slid 15% in London after the food-ingredient
firm lowered its guidance for fiscal 2014.
On a more upbeat note, shares of Renault SA gained 4.5% after
the French car maker set targets for boosting revenue and
profitability by 2017.
Nestle SA (NSRGY) fell 1.9% after the food company reported its
slowest sales growth in four years and missed profit expectations
for 2013.
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