MW: Europe stocks key off Asia losses, miners fall
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stock markets staged broad-based losses on Monday, tracking a weak sentiment in Asia, where Chinese real-estate stocks tumbled after the country tightened property-mortgage rules.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -0.11% dropped 0.4% to 287.85, adding to a 0.3% loss from Friday.
Mining firms posted some of the biggest losses in the pan-European index, after the Chinese government late Friday announced fresh measures to cool the property market, including higher down-payments and mortgage rates on second homes in cities with steep price gains. China is a major user of natural resources, and any indicators of a slowdown in the economy and the construction sector tend to weigh on mining firms. See: Property stocks sink China but boost Japan.
Shares of Rio Tinto PLC UK:RIO -3.62% RIO -3.52% AU:RIO -2.24% lost 3.5%, BHP Billiton PLC UK:BLT -1.47% BHP -1.24% AU:BHP -2.82% fell 2% and Kazakhmys PLC UK:KAZ -5.25% gave up 7%.
Shares of Anglo American PLC UK:AAL -2.66% shaved off 3.1%, as Nomura cut the miner to reduce from neutral.
The losses for mining firms weighed on the U.K.’S FTSE 100 index UK:UKX -0.36% which erased 0.6% to 6,338.62.
In the U.S., stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street, amid worries that politicians are making no progress toward reversing billions of dollars in automatic spending cuts, referred to as the sequester, which came into effect last Friday. Republican congressional leaders on Sunday rejected calls by Democrats to reduce the deficit through a mix of spending cuts and tax increases, insisting on spending cuts alone.
Back in Europe, banks were among notable decliners, with shares of HSBC Holdings PLC UK:HSBA -1.98% HBC -1.10% HK:5 -1.23% off 2.9%. The heavyweight bank said profit attributable to the ordinary shareholders of the parent company fell 17% in 2012 to $13.5 billion. Additionally, it fell short of performance targets set two years ago by Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver. See: HSBC lifts dividend but continues to miss targets.
Shares of oil major Total SA FR:FP -0.47% TOT +0.10% shaved off 0.6%, as analysts at Goldman Sachs reiterated their underweight rating on the oil and gas sector. See: Goldman Sachs ups Europe health care, tech.
Shares of ArcelorMittal FR:MT -2.27% eased 2.5% to €10.96, after Goldman Sachs cut the steelmaker’s target price to €11.10 from €11.50.
The CAC 40 index FR:PX1 +0.35% shed 0.4% to 3,686.57.
And in Germany, steel and technology group ThyssenKrupp AG DE:TKA -2.49% fell 2.1%.
On a more upbeat note in Frankfurt, Deutsche Telekom AG DE:DTE +0.85% gained 0.6%. The company said it would cooperate with Wi-Fi operator Fon to expand its mobile data offering. See: Deutsche Telekom to work with Wi-Fi operator Fon.
The DAX 30 index DX:DAX -0.25% traded 0.7% lower at 7,658.73.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
