EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Edge Lower On Downbeat German, Chinese Export Data

Pandora slides as profit misses expectations

European stocks tilted lower Tuesday, as disappointing trade data from Germany and China pulled on key sectors and cast doubt on the prospects for those powerhouses' economies.

Meanwhile, shares of Danish jeweler Pandora A/S were among companies whose shares were yanked down after earnings reports.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.1% at 381.82, but has been darting in and out of positive territory. The consumer goods and basic materials sectors were losing the most, but the oil and gas, utility and industrial groups advanced. On Monday, the pan-European benchmark ended lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-catch-their-breath-after-downbeat-german-data-2017-08-07) by 0.1%.

More German gloom: Trading got underway Tuesday with figures from Germany showing exports fell by 2.8% on the month in June (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-exports-fall-for-first-time-in-2017-2017-08-08), the first decline in exports this year. Imports also dropped, but at a faster rate of 4.5%, which meant the trade surplus widened slightly.

Germany's DAX 30 ebbed down 4 points to 12,253.96.

The trade data follow Monday's report of an unexpected decline in industrial output (industrial%20output%20in%20Europe%e2%80%99s%20largest%20economy%20surprisingly%20fell%20at%20the%20end%20of%20the%20second%20quarter,%20data%20from%20Germany%e2%80%99s%20Economics%20Ministry%20showed.) at the end of the second quarter in Europe's largest economy.

Chinese burn: Meanwhile, Chinese trade data (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-export-growth-slows-but-up-for-5th-month-2017-08-08) published Tuesday showed July exports and imports grew at a slower pace than in recent months. The readings were lower than expected.

Mining shares fell, as China is a major buyer of industrial and previous metals. Iron ore producer Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) lost 1%, copper miner Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) gave up 0.8%, and steel maker ArcelorMittal SA (MT) was off 0.8%.

Stock movers: Pandora A/S (PNDORA.KO) slid 7.6% as the jewelry retailer said quarterly net profit fell 10% to 1.1 billion Danish kroner (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pandora-pays-110-million-to-enter-spain-directly-2017-08-08), below expectations of 1.24 billion kroner. The company also said it will pay 110 million euros to buy the distribution rights for its jewelry in Spain, Gibraltar and Andorra.

InterContinental Hotels shares (IHG) (IHG) dropped 4.7% on concerns about slower room-revenue growth. First-half pretax profit rose 9.4% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/intercontinental-hotels-profit-raises-dividend-2017-08-08), and the company, whose brands include Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, raised its interim dividend by 10%.

Standard Life PLC (SL.LN) gave up 1.5% after the financial services company posted a 14% decline in first-half pretax profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-life-profit-drops-14-hikes-dividend-2017-08-08), hurt by a fall in revenue and investment returns. Standard Life did raise its interim dividend to 7 pence a share.

Indexes: France's CAC 40 index was up 0.1% at 5,212.75, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 1 point at 7,530.89. Spain's IBEX 35 was up 0.2% to 10,697.50.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 08, 2017 06:04 ET (10:04 GMT)