Europe open: Stocks in the red as German factory orders disappoint
European stocks fell in early trade on Wednesday, with sentiment undermined by the release of weak German manufacturing figures.
At 0940 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.2% to 364.22, Germany's DAX was 0.6% lower at 11,304.03 and France's CAC 40 was down 0.5% at 5,059.79.
Investors were digesting data out earlier that showed 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% from 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."
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 retreated 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, while Munich Re gained despite posting a 56% drop in fourth-quarter net profit.
ING racked up solid gains as the Dutch financial group's fourth-quarter earnings topped 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.