EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Slip As Investors Weigh Corporate Updates, Central Bank Moves

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Commerzbank's net profit declines

European stocks slipped Tuesday, with investors wading through a slew of corporate updates, including a higher takeover bid for brewer SABMiller PLC and the potential breakdown of a deal involving Italy's Mediaset SpA that drove its shares down by double digits.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2% to 340.36, led by declines among the oil and gas , financial and consumer services sectors.

Shares of BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) fell 2% as the oil major posted quarterly underlying earnings of $720 million (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bp-posts-replacement-cost-of-225-billion-2016-07-26), falling short of analysts' consensus of $839 million. BP also said its second-quarter replacement cost loss -- analogous to the net income that U.S. oil companies report -- was $2.25 billion as it booked a multibillion-dollar charge relating to its 2010 Gulf of Mexico rig blowout and oil spill.

The Stoxx 600 on Monday ended 0.2% higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-climb-for-first-day-in-three-as-ryanair-ericsson-advance-2016-07-25) after a volatile session marked by a slide in oil prices.

"Markets have settled into what looks to be a consolidation move in front of crucial meetings from the Fed and the [Bank of Japan], however the strengthening of the yen suggests that the market is somewhat sceptical that the stimulus package out of Japan will be able to meet expectations," said Richard Perry, market analyst at Hantec Markets, in a note.

A jump in the yen helped leave Japanese shares down 1.4% Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-falls-after-disappointing-report-on-stimulus-plan-2016-07-25).

The Fed's latest policy decision is due Wednesday after the close of European trade and the Bank of Japan's statement is slated for release on Friday.

Movers: SABMiller (SAB.JO) shares flipped lower, losing 0.5%. The brewer received an increased takeover bid from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-inbev-increases-offer-for-sabmiller-2016-07-26-3485537)(ABI.BT) (ABI.BT), to GBP45 a share ($58.85) from GBP44 a share. Shares of Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch were up 0.3%.

The new offer, which values SABMiller at about GBP79 billion ($104 billion), comes as the British pound has slid in the wake of last month's Brexit vote that is expected to lead the U.K. out of the European Union.

Among financial stocks, Commerzbank AG shares (CBK.XE) fell 4.9%. The German lender said late Monday net profit fell by about a third (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/commerzbank-core-tier-1-ratio-drops-to-115-2016-07-26) to EUR209 million and that its capital ratio declined as it deals with increased pension liabilities and regulatory changes.

Commerzbank's current net profit is line with what analysts expected. Commerzbank plans to release a full set of figures on Aug. 2.

Mediaset shares (MS.MI) tumbled 13% after the Italian broadcaster said it was informed "out of the blue" by France's Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) that it's no longer interested in acquiring 100% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mediaset-says-vivendi-aiming-to-revise-pay-tv-deal-2016-07-26) of the Mediaset Premium pay-TV unit and that Vivendi wants to change terms of its proposal.

Vivendi shares were up 0.3%.

Gainers included BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) (BT.A.LN) , with shares climbing 4.8%. U.K.'s telecommunications regulator Ofcom called for BT's Openreach network business to have its own structure, but stopped short of calling for a full separation of the businesses (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bt-arm-should-have-separate-structure-regulator-2016-07-26).

Indexes: The U.K's FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 6,725.21 while Germany's DAX 30 was up 4 points at 10,202.93.

France's CAC 40 lost 0.3% to 4,374.29 and Italy's FTSE MIB fell 1% to 16,521.17.

The euro was buying $1.1018, up from $1.0996 late Monday in New York.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2016 05:39 ET (09:39 GMT)

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