Europe midday: Shares slide into red on downbeat EZ, German data

(Sharecast News) - European shares slipped into the red at midday on Wednesday on downbeat economic data from the eurozone and Germany.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.21% at 513.60, erasing gains in the morning session. US stocks sold off sharply on Tuesday as bond yields hit a nine-month high on the back of stronger-than-expected economic data and renewed concerns about inflation.

The Dow finished 0.4% lower, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 1.1% and 1.9% respectively, pulling back after two days of solid gains.

Weighing on sentiment was a jump in 10-year US Treasury yields, up 5.3 basis points at 4.689%, hitting levels not seen since last April ahead of the Treasury's auction of $39bn of 10-year notes after the close.

Investors will be eyeing the US ADP report for December later in the day while the Federal Reserve's December policy minutes will be out after markets close.

"A mixture of macro fears for inflation and concerns about what the next Trump presidency may hold are dominating markets as we move to the middle of the week," said XTB research director Kathleen Brooks.

"The sell off in stocks in the US was driven by strong economic data, including a rise in job openings and the highest level of the ISM services prices paid index since early 2023. This has rattled financial markets. On top of this, President-elect Trump doubled down on his tariff talk in a wide-ranging speech on Tuesday evening, eroding hopes that he will tread a more cautious path."

In economic news, wholesale price inflation in the eurozone jumped more than expected in November to its highest level in more than two years, as energy costs surged.

According to figures from Eurostat on Wednesday, the producer price index for the single-currency region increased at an monthly rate of 1.6% following a 0.4% increase in October.

This was ahead of the 1.5% rate expected by economists and the highest monthly growth seen since September 2022.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence in the single currency bloc was confirmed at an eight-month low in December, while economic sentiment dropped to its lowest level in more than four years.

According to revised estimates from the European Commission, the consumer confidence index weakened by 1.0 point to -14.5 last month, in line with flash figures released two weeks ago and the lowest level since April 2024.

In Germany, retail sales and industrial orders both fell unexpectedly in November, according to official data released on Wednesday.

Retail sales were down 0.6% in real terms compared with October, federal statistics office Destatis said. Analysts had forecast a 0.5% increase.

Industrial orders slumped 5.4% month on month on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis against expectations of no change.

In equity news, shares in Shell fell as the oil and gas giant cut its liquefied natural gas production outlook for the fourth quarter of 2024 and warned trading results for its chemicals and oil products division were expected to be "significantly lower" compared to the third quarter.

Shares in Flutter were lower as the gambling outfit lowered earnings forecasts at its US operations as punters scored wins on their American football bets.

TeamViewer surged 14% after beating revenue estimates due to an unexpected boosted in new contracts at the end of 2024.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com