* FTSEurofirst 300 down 0.2 pct, Euro STOXX 50 down 0.1 pct * U.S. data, Russia risk keep activity subdued * Ryanair, Reckitt outperform on earnings, dealmaking * German market underperforms on Russia exposure (Adds comment, closing prices) By Lionel Laurent and Blaise Robinson LONDON/PARIS, July 28 (Reuters) - European stocks edged lower on Monday, with unspectacular U.S. data and new European sanctions against Moscow offsetting strong earnings updates from firms like Ryanair
RYA.I and spin-off talk from Reckitt BenckiserRB.L . European equities have barely budged from their levels at the end of June, inching back from multi-year highs on doubts over the pace of economic recovery in the euro zone and the impact of conflicts in Ukraine and across the Middle East. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index.FTEU3 closed down 0.2 percent at 1,369.61 points, while the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50.STOXX50E index was down 0.1 percent. An unspectacular reading for new business and employment growth in the U.S. services sector, along with an unexpected drop in U.S. pending home sales for June, weighed on trading.ID:nL6N0Q33HU Sentiment was subdued overall, with investors looking ahead to a busy week of data and earnings from the U.S. and digesting a recent batch of mixed trading updates from European firms. "The U.S. PMI was slightly softer (than expected)," said Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets. Investors also held back from placing big bets as geopolitical risks remained in focus. Russian markets tumbled for a third straight session after the EU reached an outline agreement on its first economic sanctions on Russia since the downing of a Malaysian airliner over East Ukraine.ID:nL6N0Q20TO Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, a huge explosion in a public garden killed eight children and two adults and wounded 40 others, Palestinian medics said on Monday. Locals blamed the blast on an Israeli air strike but Israel denied responsibility, saying it was a misfire by a rocket launched by Hamas. "Tensions in Ukraine and Middle East, recent nasty surprises in the earnings season... There's just a lack of visibility at the moment which is prompting investors to just stay on the sidelines," Talence Gestion fund manager Alexandre Le Drogoff said. Airline Ryanair and consumer-goods group Reckitt Benckiser were among the outperformers, with both up 2.7 percent after a blowout quarter for the airline led it to raise its profit forecast and after Reckitt said it planned to sell its heroin-addiction treatment, worth $4.9 billion by some measures.ID:nL6N0Q31IT ID:nL6N0Q30TX France's Danone was also among the top gainers, up 0.9 percent following a report that the food and beverage major is in talks to sell its medical nutrition business to U.S. group HospiraHSP.N in a deal valuing the unit at about $5 billion, or 3.7 billion euros.ID:nL6N0Q213F "In the past, the price mentioned was 3 billion euros, so this 3.7 billion euro tag is a better price," a Paris-based trader said. On the downside, German automakers DaimlerDAIGn.DE and PorschePSHG_p.DE and Austrian lender Raiffeisen BankRBIV.VI were both down over 3 percent. Banking-technology group Wincor NixdorfWING.DE also fell 4.5 percent after it slashed its sales forecast.ID:nWEB00QDN Germany, a top trading partner of Russia, is seen by investors as relatively more exposed to the Ukraine crisis than other markets. The Frankfurt blue-chip DAX index.GDAXI was down 0.5 percent, underperforming the French CAC 40.FCHI and the UK FTSE 100.FTSE . There was mixed news from the financial sector. Spain's BankiaBKIA.MC reported a near-doubling of quarterly profit on the back of a sustained recovery for the country's banking sector, though Germany's Commerzbank unveiled more pain ahead as part of a wider savings programme that will cost more jobs.ID:nL6N0Q31RO Lloyds Banking GroupLLOY.L ended the day flat after agreeing to pay fines totaling $370 million to U.S. and British authorities investigating its part in a global interest-rate-rigging scandal and manipulating fees for a UK government lending scheme.ID:nL6N0Q334A Emerging markets-focused fund manager Aberdeen Asset ManagementADN.L fell more than 5 percent after it said assets under management dipped in the June quarter, with clients withdrawing 8.8 billion pounds ($14 billion).ID:nL6N0Q318V Data showed a sharp rise in profits earned by Chinese industrial firms, up 17.9 percent in June from a year earlier, fuelling expectations that the world's second-largest economy is powering through its recent soft patch as the government uses targeted stimulus measures to support growth.ID:nL4N0Q31I6 Europe bourses in 2014:http://link.reuters.com/pap87v Asset performance in 2014:http://link.reuters.com/gap87v Today's European research round-upRCH/EUROPE (Editing by Tom Heneghan) ((blaise.robinson@thomsonreuters.com)(+33.1.4949.5269)(Reuters Messaging: blaise.robinson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))((============================================================ For rolling updates on what is moving European shares please click onSTXNEWS/EU ============================================================ For pan-European market data and news, click on codes in brackets: European Equities speed guide...................EUR/EQUITY FTSEurofirst 300 index...............................FTEU3 STOXX Europe index...................................STOXX Top 10 STOXX sectors............................PGL.STOXXS Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors.......................PGL.STOXXES Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors....................PGL.FTEU3S Top 25 European pct gainers........................PG.PEUR Top 25 European pct losers.........................PL.PEUR Main stock markets: Dow Jones................DJI Wall Street report ......N Nikkei 225..............N225 Tokyo report.............T FTSE 100................FTSE London report............L Xetra DAX..............GDAXI CAC-40................FCHI World Indices.....................................0#.INDEX Reuters survey of world bourse outlook.........EQUITYPOLL1 Western European IPO diary.........................WEU/IPO European Asset Allocation........................EUR/ASSET Reuters News at a Glance: Equities.................TOP/EQE Main currency report:.................................FRX/ ))Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKS/
European shares tip lower on U.S. data, Russia risk
July 28, 2014
