Europe open: Stocks nudge lower as oil slips back

European stocks nudged lower in early trade amid declining oil prices and following a weak lead from Wall Street, as investors continued to sift through earnings.

At 0900 BST, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.2%, Germany’s DAX was off 0.4% and France’s CAC 40 was 0.3% lower.

Meanwhile, oil prices retreated, with West Texas Intermediate down 1% at $49.48 a barrel and Brent crude down 0.8% at $50.40.

Tony Cross, market analyst for TopTradr, said: “Crude oil is also worth watching – US front month WTI has lost its grip on the $50 level as fears mount that the proposed OPEC production cuts won’t be implemented as planned and with expectations being that we will see a build in stocks when the inventory data is released later in the session, downside pressures could continue to mount here.”

In corporate news, Lloyds Banking Group slid as it set aside a further provision of £1bn for compensation for mis-selling payment protection insurance in the third quarter of the year, as net income and profits both fell. For the three months ended 30 September, net income fell 1% to £2.85bn and underlying profits dropped by 3% to £1.91bn.

Heineken was a little lower after a third quarter trading update in which it warned over growing currency headwinds.

Novozymes tumbled after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, and Bayer was on the back foot even though its third-quarter earnings beat estimates.

Banking group CYBG was weaker after confirming it has made a preliminary non-binding proposal to Royal Bank of Scotland regarding its Williams and Glyn operations,

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca edged lower despite saying its Lynparza drug had positive results from a clinical trial to treat women with mutated ovarian cancer.

International distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl was fell back after it said group revenue for the third quarter increased by 7%, with 3% contributed by acquisitions and 4% due to the impact of additional trading days compared to the same time last year. Underlying revenue for the quarter was at a similar level to the third quarter last year.

Metro Bank was also on the back foot despite saying it swung to a pre-tax profit in the third quarter – its first quarterly profit – as revenue surged.

Meggitt was little changed as it won a $48m contract for a health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) from engineering and maintenance organisation Guangzhou Hangxin Avionics, for its helicopters.

On the upside, Airbus gained ground despite posting a drop in third-quarter profit, while luxury group Kering surged as it said sales rose 10% in the third quarter.

Santander was also in the black as the lender reported a small increase in third-quarter net profit, although a weaker sterling dented returns from its UK business, while PSA Peugeot Citroen advanced despite posting a 4% drop in third-quarter revenue.