UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Emily Horton

European stocks were down on Thursday ahead of the Easter break, as yet more indicators pointed to malaise in the region's economy.

How did markets perform?

The Stoxx 600 dropped 0.1% to 388.89, following on from Wednesday's rise of 0.1%.

In the U.K., the FTSE 100 lost 0.2% to 7457.02 after finishing flat the previous day, while Germany's DAX fell by 0.3% to 12,122.03 and France dipped 0.4% to 5,542.17.

Italy's FTSE MIB was the biggest loser among regional indices on Thursday, swooning 0.6% to 21,873.95.

The euro receded 0.4% to $1.1257 from $1.1296 late Wednesday.

The pound also dipped, falling by 0.2% to $1.3011 from $1.3042.

What's driving the markets?

The main focus for investors was the release of the region's preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) surveys for April, which signalled that the economic stagnation cited by policymakers was not yet finished. France showed a decline in manufacturing output at 49.6 versus estimates of 50, though its services came in better at 50.5 versus predictions of 49.8. German manufacturing remained in contraction at 44.5 versus 45 estimated, but a significant services figure of 55.56 versus 55 estimated will likely assuage some fears about the region's powerhouse.

Meanwhile, new data on China's growing economy released on Wednesday failed to inspire the markets.

What stocks are active?

Unilever Plc (ULVR.LN) added 2%, after the consumer goods giant warned shareholders that underlying sales growth will be at "the lower half" of its self-set 3%-5% target, despite reporting better-than-expected results for the first quarter of the year.

"New chief executive Alan Jope has now been in the hot seat since January and he's delivered a satisfactory first quarter, although nothing spectacular," Russ Mould, investor director at AJ Bell said.

"Now comes the hard part -- he needs to find a way to stop the company's sales growth from slowing down and adapt Unilever for the new era of retail where online shopping and the rise of discounters are driving down prices," Mould continued.

Kering SA (KER.T), the French luxury fashion house, lost 6% after Jean-Marc Duplaix, the firm's chief financial officer, reportedly (https://www.ft.com/content/c18af960-6130-11e9-a27a-fdd51850994c) said that its star performing brand Gucci is now in "a phase of normalization of this growth" following two years of "absolutely exceptional growth".

Manufacturer AMS AG (AMS.EB) lost 3%, while BAE Systems PLC (BA.LN) Britain's biggest aerospace and defense conglomerate also fell by 3%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 18, 2019 06:38 ET (10:38 GMT)

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