Europe midday: Stocks mostly lower as German data adds to recession fears

European stocks were mostly lower by midday on Wednesday as weak German manufacturing figures added to concerns about a slowdown in the eurozone's largest economy.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.1% to 365.30, but Germany's DAX was 0.5% lower at 11,310.25 and France's CAC 40 was off 0.3% at 5,070.38.

Data out earlier from Destatis showed that German factory orders unexpectedly fell in December.

Orders were down 1.6% on the month, missing expectations for a 0.3% rise. On the year, orders declined by 7% compared to an upwardly-revised 3.4% drop in November.

Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said this was a "nasty" headline even factoring in the significant upward revision to the November headline.

"Export orders fell for the second month running, by 2.3% month-to-month, while domestic orders stepped back too, declining by 0.6% after a 3.0% rise in November. Across sectors, weakness in capital and intermediate goods were the primary drivers, especially on the export side to non-eurozone economies.

"By contrast, new orders for consumer goods rebounded strongly across the board, pointing to a revival in the auto sector towards the end of the year. The year-over-year rate was depressed by base effects from a very strong finish to the year in 2017, but the message remains clear: German manufacturing is suffering, especially in intermediate goods, where the three-month rolling change slipped further in December."

More broadly, investors were mulling over US President Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday.

London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "Whilst the President touched on Chinese trade relations and the budget there was nothing new for traders to sink their teeth into.

"The annual speech which lays out the President’s priorities for the year ahead saw Trump focus on illegal immigration and his plans for the wall. Those that had been hoping that Trump would offer fresh trade news with China were left empty handed. Concrete evidence of real progress in US-China trade talks is still lacking. Whilst there is lots of positive talk the market wants to see something more concrete now."

In corporate news, Handelsbanken was in the red after the Swedish bank's fourth-quarter profit beat estimates but the dividend came in well below forecasts.

Daimler fell as the German car maker said it expects to see "slight growth" in vehicle sales, revenue and operating profit this year.

French construction group Vinci slipped even as it expressed confidence about 2019 despite the toll taken by the yellow vest protests.

On the upside, Carlsberg fizzed higher as the Danish brewer's fourth-quarter sales surpassed analysts' expectations.

ING racked up solid gains as the Dutch financial group's fourth-quarter earnings beat forecasts, but France's BNP Paribas was a touch weaker as it cut its profit and revenue targets for 2020 and reported a dip in full-year net income.

Elsewhere, software group Dassault Systemes surged thanks to better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue.

Siemens and Alstom were also in focus after the European Commission blocked their rail merger plans, arguing that without remedies, the merger would have resulted in higher prices and less choice and innovation.