EUROPE MARKETS: Jitters Over U.S. Health-care Bill Send European Stocks Lower Into The Weekend
March 24 2017 - 06:36AM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Euro jumps after eurozone PMIs easily beat forecasts
European stocks headed lower on Friday, with the delayed
health-care-bill vote in the U.S. keeping investors on edge going
into the weekend.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.3% to 376.20, setting it on
track for a 0.6% weekly slide. That would mark the benchmark's
worst week since early February.
Stocks in Europe have been falling four out of the five trading
days this week, as traders have looked to the U.S. where President
Donald Trump has been struggling to push through his promised
repeal of Obama's Affordable Care Act. The vote was scheduled for
Thursday, but pushed back a day because of opposition from some
Republicans.
Read: Trump ultimatum: Pass health bill now or live with
Obamacare
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-ultimatum-pass-health-bill-now-or-live-with-obamacare-2017-03-23)
"Yesterday's vote in congress has been delayed and the president
is threatening that failure to pass the bill will see him move
straight on to tax reform," said Tony Cross, market analyst for
TopTradr, in a note.
"The market wants to see progress here, as it's the prospect of
tax breaks that has been very much behind the equity market rally,
but without the health-care overhaul, the scope for change is
rather limited. If equity markets are looking for a reason to sell
off, this could very well prove to be the trigger," he added.
U.S stocks closed lower on Thursday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-lined-up-for-cautious-moves-ahead-of-yellen-speech-health-care-vote-2017-03-23),
but futures pointed to a stronger open on Wall Street on
Friday.
Euro rally: The euro jumped to $1.0802 after a round of flash
purchasing managers indexes from France, Germany and the eurozone
all beat expectations.
The eurozone composite for March rose to the highest level in
almost six years at 56.7, breezing past forecasts of a 55.8
reading.
"While the eurozone economy currently looks to be on the front
foot, it remains to be seen if activity is hampered by consumers
becoming more cautious as purchasing power is squeezed by higher
inflation and limited wage growth in most countries," said Howard
Archer, chief U.K. and European economist at IHS Markit.
"There is also still considerable scope for political
uncertainties to negatively affect growth over the coming months --
elections in France and Germany, political fragility in Italy,
problems in Greece, Brexit negotiations coming to the fore after
the U.K. triggers Article 50 on 29 March, and uncertainties over
the Trump administration's policies," he added.
In regards to the French election, a fresh poll showed centrist
Emmanuel Macron coming out on top in the first round of voting on
April 23, one point ahead of far-right Marine Le Pen.
Movers: Shares of Smiths Group PLC (SMIN.LN) jumped 3.3% after
the engineering company said its pretax profit more than doubled in
the first half
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/smiths-group-profit-more-than-doubles-dividend-up-2017-03-24)
thanks to some robust sales and profit from a disposal.
Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) climbed 2.9% after the German drugmaker
received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for
its Bavencio intravenous treatment.
Read:Looking for bank stocks? Ditch the U.S. and head to Europe,
Citi says
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/looking-for-bank-stocks-ditch-the-us-and-head-to-europe-citi-says-2017-03-22)
Indexes: Germany's DAX 30 index dropped 0.1% to 12,032.93, while
France's CAC 40 index fell 0.4% to 5,015.28.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index slipped 0.1% to 7,336.32, setting the
benchmark on track for its worst week since January
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-set-for-worst-week-since-january-as-investors-eye-us-health-care-bill-2017-03-24).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2017 06:21 ET (10:21 GMT)
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