EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Ease; Ericsson Slides After Results

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks slipped Wednesday, with LM Ericsson AB among the decliners pulling the region's benchmark index back from its hefty gain in the previous session.

The Stoxx Europe 600 shed 0.2% to 336.37, handing back a small portion of its 1.4% jump on Tuesday, which was led by a rally in drug makers.

Struggling on Wednesday were shares of Ericsson , falling 4.9% after the Swedish mobile-network company posted an unexpectedly sharp decline in quarterly revenue to 47.51 billion Swedish kronor ($7.21 billion), from 52.03 billion kronor a year earlier. That missed a consensus projection from analysts of 50.80 billion kronor. ARM Holdings PLC shares were down as well, off 2.1% as the computer-chip designer was unable to gain traction after reporting a rise in first-quarter profit.

But limiting the Stoxx 600's loss was an 8.6% leap in Associated British Foods PLC shares, as strength from its Primark retail chain and grocery units aided in a rise in half-year profit. The company said it plans to open Primark stores in the north-east of the U.S.

European benchmark indexes remained lower after a better-than-expected reading for euro-zone manufacturing activity in April. An initial reading of Markit's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 53.3, a three-month high that surpassed expectations for a 53.0 reading. The manufacturing PMI figure in March was 53.0.

Ahead of that, Markit's preliminary Purchasing Manager's Index for France showed a slowdown in both manufacturing and services activity in April. But services and manufacturing activity in Germany each rose this month, leaving the preliminary composite PMI at 56.3, up from 54.3 in March.

Germany's DAX 30 lost 0.1% to 9,591.19, and France's CAC 40 declined 0.3% to 4,469.73.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was higher by 2 points at 6,683.14.

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