By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
European stocks fell Thursday and moved toward a monthly loss,
as investors weighed a rise in the euro and concerns about slowing
global growth.
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4% to 395.86, led by declines in
technology, health care and mining shares. The pullback was the
benchmark's third in a row, with Wednesday's 2.2% selloff
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-gain-as-corporate-results-roll-in-fed-in-focus-2015-04-29)
underpinned by U.S. data that showed meager growth in the world's
largest economy in the first quarter.
"Confidence certainly seems to have been shaken up, with a few
unknowns impacting investors," said IG Market Strategist Stan Shamu
in a note Thursday. There was "an unprecedented QE program by the
U.S. and, judging by the way data is going, the economy isn't quite
able to stand on its own two feet yet."
The Stoxx 600 was facing a monthly loss of 0.2%.
Data: Eurozone inflation rose to 0% in April
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-consumer-prices-steady-after-declines-2015-04-30)
from negative 0.1% in March. Inflation expectations are watched by
the European Central Bank in setting its monetary policy,
especially in connection with its quantitative-easing program.
German jobless claims in April were down 8,000
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-jobless-claims-fall-by-less-than-expected-2015-04-30)
from March, less than the decline of 13,000 forecast in a Wall
Street Journal poll of economists.
Euro: The euro (EURUSD) held steady at $1.1215 after the
inflation data. It resumed its advance against the U.S. dollar on
Thursday, as investors appeared to shrug off a statement from the
Federal Reserve that suggested an interest-rate increase in June
remains a possibility
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-hits-3-week-low-against-euro-ahead-of-gdp-fed-statement-2015-04-29).
The euro on Wednesday posted its best day against the dollar in
six weeks, a move that contributed to a 3.2% slide in Germany's DAX
30 . On Thursday, the DAX rose 0.3% to 11,466.64.
Corporates: Among stock movers, French steel-pipe maker
Vallourec SA was the worst performer on the Stoxx 600, with shares
tumbling 15.6%. The sharpest decline in nearly three years came
after the company late Wednesday swung to a first-quarter loss of
EUR76 million
(http://www.wsj.com/articles/vallourec-swings-to-loss-cuts-jobs-1430333521)($84.4
million), and revenue fell more than 17%, under pressure as demand
from energy companies softens. Standard & Poor's downgraded
Vallourec's credit rating late Wednesday.
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