(Reuters) – European scholarships finished down Thursday after results of mixed companies and always more doubts when the European Union studies a wider set of countermeasures for American customs duties in the event of negotiations.

In Paris, CAC 40 lost 0.69% to 53.81 points. The British Footsie sold 0.12% and the German Dax 1.15%, touching its highest decrease in April. The Eurostoxx 50 index lost 1.04% and the Stoxx 600 dropped by 0.46%.

The increase in the euro, which reached up to 9% in the April-June quarter, is closely monitored due to its impact on the profits of European Union companies, dependent on exports, while the results of the old continent is preparing to accelerate.

“If we consider the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) [des pays de l’UE] And sales of European companies, we expect fairly modest growth, “warned Joost Van Leenders, a senior investment strategist at Van Lanschot Kempen.

It also underlines the weakness of the dollar and its direct effect which leads to a drop in expectations on profits.

A survey by the European Central Bank (ECB) showed on Monday that, even if companies in the euro zone remain optimistic about their growth prospects, they are faced with pressures on their profits partly linked to trade tensions.

VALUES

The European chemistry sector accused the highest drop in the day (1.15%), penalized by the lowering by Akzo Nobel of its annual Ebitda objective.

The actions of semiconductor manufacturers like Infineon and ASML fell respectively 1.98% and 3.48%, after their American counterpart NXP semiconductor published low results in the second quarter.

SARTORIUS STEDIM Biotech accused the highest drop in the Stoxx 600, at 8.11%, after having kept its annual prospects despite solid quarterly results.

The Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli dropped by 6.38% despite an increase in its forecast for organic sales growth after a disappointing quarterly operating profit.

In contrast, the British specialist in collective catering Compass appeared in a green lantern of the Stoxx 600 with an increase of 5.39%, after announcing the takeover of Vermaat Groep.

Centrica increased by 4.76% after the United Kingdom approval of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in East of England. The company has a 15% stake in the project.

A Wall Street

At the time of market closing in Europe, the New York Stock Exchange was advancing without management, with an increase of 0.1% for the Dow Jones, a decrease of 0.2% for Standard & Poor’s 500 and a drop of 0.45% for the Nasdaq Composite.

The values to follow at Wall Street:

Changes

The dollar fell on Tuesday and the Yen is one of the main winners against the greenback, investors closely following commercial discussions as August 1 approach in the customs duties file.

The dollar fell 0.42% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro lost 0.15% to 1.1742 dollars.

RATE

The prices of state bonds in the euro zone increased on Tuesday, prolonging the earlier earnings obtained during an exacerbated rally by low liquidity which dropped the yields of German bonds at 10 years at their lowest level in four months.

The yield of the German Bund at ten years has lost 3 base points at 2,5880% and the two years 1.5 base points at 1.7950%.

In the United States, the yield of Treasuries at ten years loses 3.4 base points at 4.3361% and the two years 2.3 base points at 3.8292%.

OIL

The oil prices fell on Tuesday for the third consecutive session. Investors fear that the trade war that broods between the main crude consumers, the United States and the European Union, will slow the growth of demand by reducing economic activity.

The Brent declines 0.8% to 68.63 dollars a barrel, while the American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) lost 0.8% to 66.36 dollars

To be continued Wednesday:

The situation on the markets

(Some data may accuse a slight offset)

( Kate Entringer, edited by Augustin Turpin)

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