Europe midday: Shares lower as China data hits sentiment

European stocks were lower at midday on Wednesday as even China’s lifting of Covid curbs failed to lift the gloom over a probable continuation of interest rate hikes amid weak growth in the eurozone.

The pan-Continental Stoxx 600 was down 0.37% in early deals after falls in the US and Asia overnight. Britain’s FTSE 100 outperformed with a gain, driven by pharma company GSK after it was spared thousands of lawsuits over its Zantac heartburn drug. France’s Sanofi was also a beneficiary of the news.

China’s government said people with Covid-19 who have mild or no symptoms can quarantine at home, in a significant shift towards living with the virus after widespread protests broke out across the country at its zero-tolerance policies towards the pandemic.

The directives by China’s national health commission also instructed officials to stop launching temporary lockdowns, and ended testing and health code requirements for “cross-regional migrants”, suggesting much freer travel across China for the lunar new year period.

However, this was tempered by a larger than expected fall in Chinese imports and exports in November, reflecting the impact that the ruling Communist Party’s Covid approach has had on the domestic and global economy.

"Fears are growing that economies are in for a rough time ahead as feverish inflation and the bitter interest rate medicine being used to bring it down take effect," said Susannah Streeter, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"The world’s second largest economy is being hit by a toxic combination of its strict pandemic policies which have crushed domestic sentiment and the severe inflationary headwinds overseas affecting its shipments to countries," she said.

Elsewhere, ECB policymaker Constantinos Herodotou on Tuesday said interest rates would still rise but were now "very near" their neutral level.

Economic growth for the eurozone economy in the third quarter has been revised upwards from preliminary estimates, driven by fixed capital investment and household spending.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.3% in the three months to September 30, slightly more than the 0.2% preliminary estimate, according to data released Wednesday by Eurostat.

Household spending added 0.4 percentage points to eurozone growth and gross fixed capital formation 0.8 points.

German industrial production fell less than expected in October, according to figures released on Wednesday by Destatis.

Output dipped by 0.1% on the month following a 1.1% decline in September, and versus consensus expectations for a 0.6% drop. On the year, production was flat in October following a 3.1% increase the month before.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com