Europe close: Stocks slip after bounce fades

The main indices in Europe finished mostly lower, following a short-lived boost after the UK High Court ruling on Article 50 and some decent results from ING and Societe Generale.

The DAX closed down by 0.43% to 10,325.88, the CAC 40 was off 0.07% to 4,411.68 and the benchmark Europe Stoxx 600 was flat at 331.56.

In London, the FTSE 100 fell as the pound strengthened after the UK High Court ruled that Parliament must vote on whether the government can start the formal Brexit process.

The pound rose 1.25% to $1.2457 as the High Court on Thursday said the government will not be allowed to invoke Article 50, which starts the process of leaving the EU, without a vote in Parliament.

The government said it was "disappointed" by the ruling and will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court for a hearing expected on 7 December.

Prime Minister Theresa May has previously said she will trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017.

Neil Wilson, market analyst at ETX Capital, said: "Even if Article 50 is triggered as planned, this judgment could underpin sterling for some time and assuage fears about a ‘hard Brexit’ if the pro-EU camps in Parliament start to dictate terms to the government in return for voting with the people.

“We could see this create a floor under the pound around $1.25.”

The pound was also lifted by the Bank of England’s decision keep interest rates unchanged, as expected by economists.

The BoE voted unanimously to leave interest rates at 0.25%. The attention now turns to the Inflation Report press release at 1230 GMT.

Meanwhile oil prices were again sliding lower, with Brent losing 1.3% at $46.26 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate retreating 1.75% to $44.56.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve decided to stay put on policy, as widely expected, but appeared to suggest that a hike could be on the cards at its next meeting in December.

In corporate news, Credit Suisse crumbled 7.39% after posting a big drop in third-quarter profits as revenue declined 10%, while Repsol fell despite saying it swung to a net profit in the third quarter.

On the upside, Societe Generale gained 5.51% after the bank’s third-quarter profit beat analysts’ expectations, while ING shares were up 2.29% as third-quarter numbers came in stronger than expected.

Beiersdorf rallied by 4.74% after lifting its full-year profit guidance and reporting better-than-expected sales for the January to September period.

Luxury goods group Hermes reversed earlier gains, trading up 0.4% as it said sales in the first nine months of the year rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago, while Air France-KLM ticked higher as it posted an increase in third-quarter net profit.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets rose 0.95% after reporting its fourth consecutive quarter of growth, helped by its biggest ever Halloween.

Asset manager Schroders gained 0.54% as it said third-quarter assets under management rose 9.1%.

Satellite services provider Inmarsat surged 10.34% after reporting a jump in third-quarter revenues following strong performances in the government and aviation divisions, but a drop in pre-tax profit.

On the data front, figures from Eurostat showed the Eurozone unemployment rate was steady in September at its lowest level in more than five years, in line with analysts’ expectations.

The unemployment rate came in at 10%, unchanged from a downwardly-revised 10% the month before, and down from 10.6% in September last year.

Eurostat’s previous estimate for August was 10.1%.