Shares slump on fragile investor sentiment

Eurostoxx 50: 2,2914.47 (–56.47) Frankfurt DAX: 5,966.16 (–167.12) Paris CAC: 3,123.65 (–71.92)EUROPEAN STOCKS retreated yesterday, capping the first weekly decline in six weeks, after the Group of 20 failed to agree on boosting the International Monetary Fund's resources and German factory data fuelled concern the region is slipping into recession.

“Investors will certainly need to digest the latest developments in Greece and the outcome of the latest G20 summit over the weekend,” said Jean-Maurice Ladure, head of investment strategy at Coutts in Zurich. “Hence, investors are likely to remain in ‘wait and see’ mode.”

Global policymakers are awaiting more details of a week- old rescue package before they commit fresh cash to the IMF which could then lend to Europe’s bailout facility, German chancellor Angela Merkel said at the end of a G20 summit in Cannes, France. French president Nicolas Sarkozy said it may take until February for a deal.

German factory orders unexpectedly plunged in September as demand from the euro region slumped, adding to signs the debt crisis is damping growth in Europe’s largest economy.

Alcatel-Lucent retreated 17 per cent to €1.67, the lowest price since July 2009.

Commerzbank fell 6.3 per cent to €1.64. Germany’s second-largest lender reported a third-quarter loss as it wrote down the value of Greek government-debt holdings.

Fiat, Italy’s biggest automaker, lost 5.5 per cent to €4.14 as a gauge of European car makers was the worst performer of the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600.

Hermes International, the French maker of Birkin bags and silk scarves, advanced 3.1 per cent to €252.20 after raising its full-year revenue growth target.

Lundin Petroleum rose 2.6 per cent to 173.50 kronor, the highest price since September 2001.

Royal Bank of Scotland rose 1.3 per cent to 23.09p, after saying job cuts are “in the offing”. Britain’s biggest government-controlled bank is “actively working” on cost cuts after third-quarter profit fell 63 per cent, Group Finance Director Bruce van Saun said.

Rheinmetall, a defence equipment and car parts maker, jumped 5.8 per cent to €37.15 after the company’s shares were upgraded. – (Bloomberg)