Europe midday: Stoxx slips into red after German survey data

European stocks slipped into the red on Wednesday as investors digested consumer survey data from Germany showed an unexpected drop in consumer sentiment.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.14% to 516.98 with most major European bourses following suit. France's CAC 40 was 0.55% lower to 7,628 points ahead of the first round of national elections on Sunday with polling showing far-right parties leading a leftist alliance and President Emmanuel Macron's centrists.

In economic news, a closely followed gauge of consumer sentiment in Germany unexpectedly fell further into negative territory, declining for the first time in five months.

The GfK's forward-looking Consumer Confidence Survey for July fell to -21.8 from a downwardly revised -21.0 the month before, missing economists' estimates for an improvement to -18.9.

"This morning has seen a focus on the German economy, which continues to flash warning signals after the Gfk consumer climate figure posted its first decline in five-months. Coming in the wake of disappointing Ifo, manufacturing, and service PMI surveys, we are seeing expectations for a July rate cut gradually grow (currently 36%)," said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.

In equity news, shares in Volkswagen Group fell back after a surge on Tuesday as the auto manufacturer said it would invest up to $5bn in US electric-vehicle maker Rivian as part of a new joint venture.

Anglo American shares rose despite its De Beers diamond unit reporting another dip in sales as it warned of a “protracted” recovery in demand.

In what is generally a quieter period for rough diamond sales, De Beers’ fifth sales cycle generated $315m, down from $383m in the fourth cycle and $446m in the third. However, this was also down from $456m in the fifth cycle of 2023.

Liontrust Asset Management fell 2.5% after reporting a 23% drop in annual profit and net outflows of £6.1bn.

Royal Mail owner IDS gained as EP Group, owned by the billionaire Daniel Kretinksy, published its formal takeover offer.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com