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Germany's LEG Immobilien weighs on real estate stocks
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Hugo Boss drops on forecast of slowing sales growth
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Deutsche Post reverse early losses on dividend hike
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Dassault Aviation hits record high after strong results
(Updates to close; adds comment)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Johann M Cherian
March 9 (Reuters) - European shares ended lower on
Thursday, with real estate stocks leading the falls, as
investors grew increasingly worried about the prospects of
interest rates remaining higher for longer.
The real estate sector dropped 3.2% to more than
two month lows, with shares in Germany's LEG Immobilien tumbling 11.4% after the firm suspended its dividend.
The STOXX 600 index closed down 0.2% after
recouping some of its losses earlier in the trading session.
"It's fairly obvious that real estate companies would come
under pressure in a higher interest rate environment and (LEG
Immobilien) comments definitely got people thinking in a
different light about companies and their ability to handle
economic uncertainties," said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at
Interactive Brokers.
Across the Atlantic, Wall Street gained ground as economic
data hinted at signs of cracks in the tight U.S. labour market
ahead of key non-farm payrolls data on Friday, indicating that
the Federal Reserve's restrictive monetary policy is beginning
to work as intended. All eyes will be on the European Central Bank next week,
when it is expected to hike its key lending rate by 50 basis
points amid numerous policymakers calling for the central bank
to keep hiking rates in subsequent meetings.
Although European stocks had a good start to the year, mixed
economic data from China and worries that the ECB would stay
hawkish for longer strained momentum in equities to the end of
February and into March.
European miners slid 2.7%, tracking lower copper
prices. Hugo Boss fell 2.1% after the German fashion
house forecast 2023 sales to grow more slowly than last year.
Credit Suisse shed 1.9% after the bank delayed
publishing its annual report due to the U.S. market regulator
raising questions about earlier financial statements.
Shares of Dassault Aviation soared 12.2% to a record
high after the French aircraft manufacturer reported
better-than-expected results for 2022.
And Deutsche Post reversed early declines to rise
1.6% as the German group hiked its dividend for 2022 after a
record year, but warned of a challenging year ahead.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Johann M Cherian in
Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Alexander Smith)
