Europe midday: Stocks in the red as Chinese data fuels worries about growth

European stocks fell as investors digested another round of disappointing Chinese data.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.7%, Germany’s DAX was 0.9% lower and France’s CAC 40 was down 0.6%.

Data released earlier showed China’s mainland consumer price index rose 1.6% in September from a year earlier, missing expectations of a 1.8% increase.

This came a day after figures revealed that dollar-denominated exports in China dropped 3.7% in September from a year earlier, while imports fell 20.4%, marking their eleventh consecutive month of decline. Exports were better than expected but imports were weaker, raising doubts over domestic demand and compounding fears of a slowdown.

“Investors are apprehensive about the sluggish growth in China and the recent data released this week has added negative sentiment for the European trading session,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade.

Eurozone data released on Wednesday were pretty much as expected. According to figures from Eurostat, industrial production in the euro bloc declined 0.5% last month, down from the upwardly revised 0.8% climb in the previous month.

On a year-on-year basis, production rose 0.9% compared with analysts’ expectations of a 1.8% increase and down from the upwardly revised 1.7% hike registered in the previous month.

“With China’s economy giving off renewed signals of distress and the Volkswagen scandal hitting business hard in Germany, today’s announcement of disappointing industrial production data will come as no surprise," said Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com.

On the corporate front, semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding tumbled after the company said it projects sequentially lower sales in the fourth quarter. In addition, its third-quarter earnings were a little short of analysts’ expectations.

Luxury goods retailers LVMH and Burberry, both of which have a high exposure to China, were under pressure.

Brewer Diageo slipped after saying it has agreed to sell two of its wine businesses, including brands such as Blossom Hill and Yellow Tail, for $552m to US-based Treasury Wine Estates as it continues to sell off non-core assets.

On the upside, though, London-listed fund manager Hargreaves Lansdown rallied as investors welcomed its third-quarter update.

Outsourcing group Capita nudged higher after it said the board of peer Xchanging has recommended its 160p per share offer, which values the company at around £412m, although it is still in talks with Apollo Global Management.

Still to come on the data front, US PPI and retail sales are at 1330 BST, while business inventories are at 1500 BST.