By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stock markets stayed lower on Tuesday after the German ZEW survey indicated investors are less optimistic about the economic future in the euro zone’s largest economy than they were a month ago.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -0.11% lost 0.4% to 333.08, erasing a 0.4% gain from Monday.
Among notable movers in Tuesday’s action, shares of John Wood Group PLC UK:WG +4.36% climbed 4.1% after the oil- and gas-services company posted a rise in 2013 pretax profit and said it is well positioned for the longer term.
Delhaize Group SA BE:DELB +4.45% gained 4.1% after Morgan Stanley lifted the Belgian supermarkets firm to overweight from equal weight, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
On a more downbeat notes, shares of Industria de Diseno Textil SA ES:ITX -2.65% , also known as Inditex, dropped 3% after Citigroup cut the fashion retailer to neutral from buy. The analysts said Inditex is one of the few beneficiaries of the shift to online sales, but that the Spanish firm will be impacted by the emerging-market currency translation.
Shares of Air Liquide SA FR:AI -1.14% fell 1.3% after the industrial-gas supplier reported a slight drop in 2013 sales.
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More broadly, investors digested the latest data from European power house Germany, which unexpectedly showed economists and analysts are less confident about the economic future than they were in January. The February ZEW indicator of economic sentiment declined 6 points to 55.7 and missed analysts expectations of a 62.7 print, according to FactSet estimates. The drop marks the second weakening in a row, after the January survey fell to 61.7, after reaching a seven-year high of 62 in December
“This month’s decline in economic expectations must not be overstated. The majority of surveyed financial market experts remain optimistic,” ZEW-President Clemens Fuest, said in the release.
The current-situation assessment was more upbeat and gained 8.8 points in February to 50, reaching its highest level since August 2011
Germany’s DAX 30 index DX:DAX +0.20% traded 0.2% lower at 9,636.76 after the data. France’s CAC 40 index FR:PX1 -0.02% dropped 0.5% to 4,313.25 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index UK:UKX +0.47% was slightly lower at 6,734.73.
In the U.K., the Office for National Statistics said annual inflation fell to 1.9% in January from 2% a month earlier, slipping below the Bank of England’s target in January for the first time in more than four years.
In the U.S., stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street. Markets were closed there on Monday for Presidents Day.
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Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
