Stocks in Europe Erase Decline as Leaders Meet

By Julie Cruz - Jan 9, 2012 5:27 PM GMT+0700
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Financial traders monitor data on computer screens below a display of the DAX index curve at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange during the final seconds of the last day of trading for 2011 in Frankfurt, Germany on Dec. 30, 2011. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

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Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Willem-Mark Nabarro, head of European equities at Exane BNP Paribas, talks about the region's debt crisis and his investment strategy. Nabarro also discusses the meeting later today between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He speaks with Caroline Hyde on Bloomberg Television's "First Look." (Source: Bloomberg)

European stocks were little changed, after three weeks of gains for the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy meet today to agree new rules for the euro. U.S. index futures and Asian shares swung between gains and losses.

Renault (RNO) SA advanced 1.8 percent after Citigroup Inc. recommended buying the carmaker’s shares. Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) fell 2.8 percent as supplier RF Micro Devices Inc. reported preliminary quarterly revenue that trailed its earlier forecast.

The Stoxx 600 (SXXP) slid 0.2 percent to 247.11 at 10:26 a.m. in London, after earlier rising as much as 0.4 percent. The gauge gained 1.2 percent last week as economic reports from around the world added to optimism that the global economy can weather the fallout from the euro area’s sovereign-debt crisis. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.3 percent.

“We believe that a combination of weaker earnings numbers, a further deterioration in euro-zone growth in the first quarter, and further political tensions are likely to push equities down before they recover more sustainably, most likely later in the first half,” a team of strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., led by Peter Oppenheimer in London, wrote in a report dated Jan. 8. “There remain several issues in Europe that are likely to put upward pressure on sovereign yields over the next couple of months that are also likely to weigh on equities.”

Merkel-Sarkozy Meeting

Merkel and Sarkozy meet today for the first time in 2012 to flesh out a new rulebook for fiscal discipline negotiated at a Dec. 9 summit that seeks to create a “fiscal compact” for the 17-member euro area. They meet at 11 a.m. in Berlin and hold a joint press conference at about 1:30 p.m.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will also visit Berlin this week. Sarkozy and Merkel will both travel to Rome on Jan. 20 for negotiations with the Italian government before the next European Union summit meeting in Brussels on Jan. 30.

German industrial production (GRIPIMOM) probably dropped 0.5 percent in November, according to the median estimate (GRIPIMOM) of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before the figures are released today. Production increased 0.8 percent in October.

Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, plans to release results today after markets close, the first company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) to report earnings from the final quarter of 2011. Investors will watch to see how the difference in economic growth in the U.S., Europe and Asia affects companies’ earnings.

Renault, Persimmon Advance

Renault climbed 1.8 percent to 28.83 euros in Paris after Citigroup upgraded the carmaker to “buy” from “neutral.”

Persimmon Plc advanced 3.8 percent to 499.2 pence, its eighth day of gains for the longest winning streak since 2004. The U.K.’s second-largest homebuilder (PSN) by market value said 2011 results will be toward the top end of analyst estimates. The company said its underlying operating margin will approach 10 percent. Persimmon also forecast a 50 percent increase in pretax profit.

Rentokil Initial Plc (RTO) jumped 2.9 percent to 66.5 pence, its highest price in a month, after Credit Suisse Group AG raised the world’s biggest pest-control company to “outperform” from “neutral.”

Nokia dropped 2.8 percent to 4.04 euros. RF Micro Devices, Nokia’s most important power-amplifier supplier, said sales for the December quarter probably fell 19 percent to about $225 million, the fourth straight quarterly decline. That compared to a previous company forecast of $250 million.

Temenos Group AG (TEMN) sank 3.8 percent to 15.10 Swiss francs after saying Mark Austen resigned from his position on the company’s board of directors with immediate effect. The company had previously announced it would not seek Austen’s re-election at its next shareholder meeting, Temenos said yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Cruz in Frankfurt at jcruz6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net