By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets were on track to
break a five-day winning streak on Thursday, with disappointing
trading updates from Zurich Insurance Group AG and Hennes &
Mauritz AB adding pressure.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index slid 0.8% to 306.05. On Wednesday,
the index closed at the highest level since May 22 after data
showed the euro zone emerged from a six-quarter-long recession,
with gross domestic product expanding 0.3% in the second quarter.
Read: Euro-zone GDP: Time to pop the champagne?
Drug makers added the most pressure on the benchmark on Thursday
after a round of ratings changes. Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (AZN)
lost 2.8% after Morgan Stanley cut the pharma firm to underweight
from equal weight. GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) got the same
treatment, and its shares dropped 2.1%.
Among other notable decliners, shares of Zurich Insurance Group
lost 3.7% after the company reported a 27% decline in
second-quarter income. The firm said the flooding in Eastern and
Central Europe, and U.S. tornadoes, weighed on earnings.
Hennes & Mauritz gave up 1.6% after the Swedish fashion
retailer posted a 1% fall in comparable sales in July.
The overall negative sentiment in Europe came on the back of
weak trading sessions in Asia and the U.S., with worries about the
timing and pace of potential reductions in the U.S. Federal
Reserve's bond purchases upsetting the markets.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street.
Back in Europe, Germany's DAX 30 index fell 0.7% to 8,382.76 on
Thursday, while France's CAC 40 index slipped 0.4% to 4,096.12.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index dropped 1.1% to 6,513.99.
Among notable movers, shares of Ophir Energy PLC sank 10% after
the oil- and gas-exploration firm reported a loss in the first half
of the year.
Oriflame Cosmetics SA (ORFLY) lost 5.6% after the Swedish
company reported a drop in second-quarter sales.
On a more upbeat note, shares of Imperial Tobacco Group PLC
(ITYBY) jumped 3.9% after the firm said its performance in the
first nine months of the year was in line with full-year
expectations. Analysts at Credit Suisse said the release "strikes
an upbeat tone on the strategic transition, and the appointment of
a new marketing director (Peter Corjin from P&G) fills a key
gap in senior management."
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