EUROPE MARKETS: Deutsche Bank Shares Slide As Europe Stocks Drift Before ECB Meeting

By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

Deutsche Bank shares declined Wednesday in an otherwise listless European stock market which paused ahead of a critical European Central Bank decision.

The Stoxx Europe 600 closed a touch higher at 391.73.

The U.K. FTSE 100 fell 0.7% to 7,501.46, hurt after a brokerage downgrade of heavyweight miners Rio Tinto (RIO.LN) , BHP Group(BHP.LN) and Anglo American (AAL.LN) . See London Markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/miners-weigh-on-london-as-broker-calls-top-for-iron-ore-2019-07-24).

   The German DAX   rose 0.3% to 12,522.89 while the French CAC 40  lost 0.2% to 5,605.87. 

What's moving markets

The mood in markets was hurt after the U.S. Justice Department announced late Tuesday it was probing the U.S. technology giants (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-finally-admits-it-is-investigating-big-tech-for-antitrust-2019-07-23) that have carried stock markets higher.

Closer to home, purchasing managers indexes in Europe flagged rough economic conditions, with flash German manufacturing PMI (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-flash-manufacturing-pmi-slumps-to-seven-year-low-2019-07-24) sliding to an 84-month low of 43.1 in July. Eurozone manufacturing PMI fell to an 75-month low. Any reading below 50 indicates contracting conditions.

Against that weak backdrop, the ECB on Thursday is expected to lay the groundwork for an interest-rate cut in September.

Related: It's the ECB's turn to take a step toward further easing when it meets Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/its-the-ecbs-turn-to-take-a-step-toward-further-easing-when-it-meets-thursday-2019-07-23)

Focus stocks

Deutsche Bank shares (DBK.XE) (DBK.XE) ended 1.9% lower. Deutsche Bank reported a EUR3.15 billion loss (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deutsche-bank-reports-35-billion-quarterly-loss-2019-07-24) in the second quarter, after taking a EUR3.4 billion restructuring charge, which was larger than it previously flagged. Excluding the charge, it would've reported a lower-than-expected EUR231 million loss.

Deutsche Bank shares have lost 33% over the last 12 months.

Battered U.K. broadcaster ITV (ITV.LN) enjoyed some relief, with the stock jumping nearly 7%. The country's largest commercial broadcaster reported a 16% drop in first-half pretax profit and announced new cost savings. The stock is still down 34% over the last 12 months.

Shares of chip equipment maker ASM International (ASM.AE) leapt 7%, with the company reporting a doubling of second-quarter profit and new orders and a EUR100 million buyback program.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2019 12:10 ET (16:10 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.