Europe open: Stocks fall on weak Asian cues as G20 disappoints

European stocks fell in early trade, taking their cue from a negative session in Asia as investors were left disappointed by the outcome of the G20 meeting in Shanghai.

At 0900 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.8%, Germany’s DAX was 0.9% lower and France’s CAC was off1.1%.

“With markets disappointed after the G20 meeting concluded without a clear plan to support global growth, investor sentiment has turned negative and European markets are trading down. Against a backdrop of volatile markets and currencies, investors had been hoping for more coordinated support from the G20, but have been left frustrated by the lack of consensus and policy,” said Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor.

“A busy week for politics and economics could see some major market moves over the coming days. Super Tuesday in the US could remove some of the uncertainty surrounding the Presidential election nominees. Employment numbers in the US on Friday will also be scrutinised carefully by investors who are hoping that signs of weakness will make it more difficult for the Federal Reserve to raise rates again in the months ahead.”

Oil prices were mixed, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.2% to $32.72 a barrel and Brent crude up 0.7% at $35.33.

In corporate news, Barclays was lower after saying it was evaluating strategic options for its African business following reports the bank has decided to exit operations there.

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca was on the back foot after saying it has entered a licensing deal with China Medical System Holdings for the commercialisation rights in China to its hypertension medicine Plendil.

Standard Chartered was under the cosh after Bernstein cut the price target on its Hong Kong listed stock, while HSBC also slumped after Bernstein trimmed its price target.

Roche Holding was in the red after it said studies for one of its asthma drugs did not come to conclusive results.

On the upside, supermarket retailer Morrisons rallied after announcing that it has inked a supply agreement with Amazon.com that will mean hundreds of its products will be available to Amazon Prime Now and Amazon Pantry customers in the coming months.

Bunzl nudged a touch higher as the outsourcer posted a rise in 2015 profit and revenue.

Data out earlier from Destatis showed German retail sales rose more than expected in January.

Retail sales were up 0.7% compared with the previous month, from an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in December, beating economists’ expectations for a 0.1% drop.

However, compared with the same month a year ago, retail sales slid 0.8% in January, although Destatis noted that January 2015 had 26 shopping days, which was one more than this year.

Still to come on the data front, flash Eurozone inflation is at 1000 GMT. In the US, Chicago PMI is at 1445 GMT while pending home sales are at 1500 GMT.