Europe midday: Stocks push lower on profit-taking as oil slides

European stocks were weaker by midday following a choppy start, as investors booked profits at the end of a week that saw solid gains.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.9%, Germany’s DAX was off 0.8% and France’s CAC 40 was 0.7% weaker.

“I think a number of factors have contributed to this week’s strong performance, particularly though the rebound in oil prices which was driven itself by an agreement between Russia, Saudi Arabia and some other OPEC members to freeze production at January levels,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

“Of course, we could also be seeing some profit taking at the first sign of any weakness which would be understandable given that we are still in quite a negative period for the markets.”

Oil prices remained in the red, having moved lower on Thursday after data from the US Energy Information showed crude inventories rose by 2.1m barrels last week to 504.1m barrels.

West Texas Intermediate was down 2% to $30.17 a barrel while Brent crude was 1.7% weaker at $33.70. The stoxx 600 oil and gas index fell 1.2%.

On the corporate front, Allianz slumped after the German insurer’s fourth quarter profit missed analysts’ expectations.

Aegon slid after the Dutch insurer’s fourth quarter earnings missed consensus forecasts.

AstraZeneca declined despite saying the European Commission has granted marketing authorisation for its Zurampic and Brilique drugs.

Kering rallied as the French luxury goods maker posted better-than-expected fourth quarter revenue.

Standard Life was in the black as the insurer and asset manager’s 2015 operating profit beat estimates.

Elsewhere, investors digested figures from Destatis showing German producer prices fell more than expected in January.

Producer prices were down 0.7% in the month compared with a 0.5% drop in December and economists’ expectations for a 0.3% decline.

On the year, prices were 2.4% weaker compared with a 2.3% drop the previous month. This was steeper than the 2% fall forecast by economists.

Still to come, the US consumer price index is at 1330 GMT. Societe Generale said: “Excluding forecasted movements in food and energy components, the core CPI likely rose by 0.2% (2.1% yoy; core index SA: 244.974), matching the average increase over the final four months of 2015.”

Eurozone consumer confidence is at 1500 GMT.