By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Nestlé gains, Adidas falls
Nestlé gains, Adidas falls
LONDON (MarketWatch)--These stocks made notable moves in
European trade Thursday:
Advancers
Aviva PLC shares climbed 2.6% as the insurer said first-half
operating profit rose even as annuity sales declined.
Nestlé SA tacked on 3.4% after the food giant said it would
launch an offer to buy back up to eight billion Swiss francs ($8.8
billion) of its shares. The company's first-half earnings fell
nearly 10%.
Zurich Insurance Group AG shares gained 2.4% as the company said
second-quarter profit rose 6%, with its general insurance business
benefiting from a lack of weather-related losses.
Decliners
Coca-Cola HBC AG sank 5.3% after the second-biggest bottler for
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) warned of a "continuing challenging volume" in
its markets such as Russia. Also: Russia retaliates with bans on
food imports from EU, U.S.
Adidas AG fell 4.6% as management said it would move quickly in
its efforts to boost sales and profit after the sportswear retailer
acknowledged it won't meet business targets for next year.
Old Mutual PLC shares lost 1.7% after the financial-services
firm's pretax profit fell dropped to 564 million pounds ($949.9
million), from GBP805 million a year earlier.
Rheinmetall AG fell 2.3%. The German industrial conglomerate cut
its sales and earnings forecasts as Berlin canceled an export
license tied to a deal that Rheinmetall had in Russia.
Also read: European stocks end lower after ECB decision
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