3 Minutes to Read (Click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window for a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK, and European financial markets.) * The STOXX 600 is having its worst day in three weeks* Miners and automakers are down more than 2%. * Teamviewer’s stock plummets because to sluggish billings growth in the second quarter. (Adds a comment and changes the prices) Reuters, July 8 – As global sentiment worsened over concerns about economic recovery, European stocks fell on Thursday, with cyclical sectors such as miners, autos, and banks leading the declines. After Asian markets sank on concerns about China’s recovery and more regulation on technology companies, the pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.1 percent, on track for its largest one-day drop in over three weeks. Banks in the Eurozone were down 2.3 percent as government bond yields continued to fall. Falling interest rates hurt lenders’ profits by reducing the difference between what they charge borrowers and what they pay depositors. Miners were down 2.3 percent, and automakers were down 1.9 percent, both of which are highly sensitive to the health of the Chinese economy since it is the world’s largest metals consumer. “China’s economic statistics has started to show signs of slowing growth. This is critical for Europe, particularly for nations like Germany, which rely heavily on what happens in China and Asia as a whole “Rabobank’s head of macro strategy, Elwin de Groot, stated. “Even though we’re still reopening, investors are becoming more anxious about the growth outlook.” Prosus, a Dutch technology investor with a 29 percent investment in Chinese tech giant Tencent, dropped 2.4 percent as the industry faced global pressure. Meanwhile, at a policy review later today, the European Central Bank is generally likely to put its inflation objective at 2%, abandoning its current formula of “below but near to 2%.” Investors will be looking for hints as to whether the ECB would allow inflation to soar amid concerns that quicker price increases could stymie economic growth. While all of the major European sectors were down, equities that are less dependent on economic development, such as real estate and healthcare, suffered less. Hella, a German automotive lighting firm, fell 2.4 percent after Knorr-Bremse, a brakes manufacturer, abandoned plans to buy a 60 percent share in the company. Knorr-stock Bremse’s increased by 7.1 percent. Teamviewer, a remote connectivity software company, fell 13.2 percent after announcing weaker-than-expected billings growth in the second quarter. Deliveroo, a British food delivery service, surged 4.3 percent after reporting an 88 percent increase in orders in the June quarter. (Bengaluru-based reporter Sruthi Shankar contributed to this report; Uttaresh.V edited it.)/n
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