By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- After a four-day winning run, European
stock markets retreated on Thursday as investors digested corporate
earnings and Wall Street stocks tipped lower at the open.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.2% to 333.87, after closing
at the highest level in six years on Wednesday.
Posting one of the biggest losses in the pan-European benchmark,
shares of Premier Oil PLC dropped 3.6% after the oil exploration
and production company said output in 2013 was in the middle of its
guidance.
Shares of Associated British Foods PLC lost 4.3% after the food
and retail firm said its budget-clothing chain Primark posted
strong sales around Christmas, but that its sugar business was
weaker than expected.
Royal Ahold NV gave up nearly 3% after the Dutch supermarket
firm said sales declined by 4.2% in the fourth quarter due to
foreign-exchange effects and a loss of market share in its two key
regions.
Swiss Re AG lost up 1.5% after J.P. Morgan Cazenove cut the
reinsurance firm to underweight from neutral.
The country-specific indexes were mostly lower, as investors
pulled back after solid gains earlier in the week. U.S. stocks
opened lower after earnings disappointment from blue chips. Also,
weekly jobless claims fell to a six-week low and consumer-price
inflation ticked higher in the U.S.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 index (SPX) closed at a record
high after the Federal Reserve said in its "Beige Book" that the
economy continues to grow at a moderate pace and the economic
outlook is positive, confirming recent economic indicators.
"Unemployment claims in the U.S. came in at 326,000, 1,000 lower
than forecast," said Alex Conroy, financial trader with SpreadEx,
in a note. "Following last Friday's disappointing non-farm figures,
this could rekindle speculators' fears that the Fed could speed up
the tapering process when the FOMC two-day meeting gets underway on
Jan. 28."
Germany's DAX 30 index moved to flat at 9,727.50, after closing
at an all-time high on Wednesday. France's CAC 40 index fell 0.2%
to 4,323.31 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was also flat at
6,819.81.
Mining firms helped lift the London benchmark after Citigroup
moved its 12-month stance on the sector to bullish from neutral,
marking the first upbeat call in three years. Within the industry,
Citi said it prefers BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) , up 4%, Rio Tinto PLC
(RIO), 3.3% higher, and Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF), up 3.2%. Gold
prices were rising, but most metals prices were broadly lower.
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