ROME: European stock markets were back in the red on Tuesday as concerns over slowing Chinese growth resurfaced after a disappointing set of trade data from the country.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, -0.85% lost 0.5% to 370.64, after posting a 0.5% gain on Monday that broke a four-day losing streak.
Tuesday’s trading mood was subdued from the start of the day, with investor confidence sapped by Chinese data showing exports fell for a fifth straight month in November. The data are seen as the latest sign of slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy as weak global demand continues to weigh on the country’s important manufacturing sector. Asian shares closed lower after the disappointing data.
In Europe, mining companies were hard hit by the trade report. The sector gauge, the Stoxx Europe 600 Basis Resources index SXPP, -3.94% dropped 3.7%, with shares of BHP Billiton PLC BLT, -4.64% BHP, -3.66% BHP, -5.23% off 5% and Rio Tinto PLC RIO, -4.50% RIO, -2.33% RIO, -4.29% down 4.1%.
Anglo American PLC AAL, -5.27% gave up 5.9% after the miner suspended dividends and announced a radical restructuring of its business.
Indexes: The losses in the mining sector weighed on the U.K.’s heavily resource-weighted FTSE 100 index UKX, -0.58% which dropped 0.5% to 6,195.01.
France’s CAC 40 index PX1, -0.73% lost 0.4% to 4,737.61, while Germany’s DAX 30 index DAX, -0.76% fell 0.4% to 10,848.09.
Data: The Bank of France trimmed its fourth-quarter growth estimate for the country and said sentiment in France’s services and manufacturing sectors declined in November.
Also in France, data showed its trade deficit widened in October from September as imports rose sharply, while exports declined slightly.
Movers and shakers: Shares of Air France-KLM AF, +0.81% rose 2.2% after the airline said it’s sticking to its financial forecasts for the full year, even as it took a 50 million euros ($54 million) hit from the Paris terror attacks in November.
Energy companies continued to decline after oil futures settled at their lowest level since early 2009 on Monday, against a backdrop of continued oversupply in the market. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided on Friday not to cut its production, highlighting concerns over a persistent supply glut that started sending prices sharply lower in the summer of 2014.
