Weak corporate earnings drag European shares lower

Weak corporate updates pegged back European shares yesterday, as the effects of a rout in oil prices knocked back heavyweight energy firms.

Some traders said the Federal Reserve’s statement on Wednesday, signalling US rate rises were still likely this year, was also crimping appetite for shares.

But Greek stocks recovered some of their losses, with banks rebounding from record lows hit earlier in the week.

DUBLIN In line with other European bourses, the Iseq index of shares in Dublin fell by 0.18 per cent to end the day at 5,498.

CPL Resources took something of a bath dropping €1.19 or 18.5 per cent to close at €5.25. This was after the recruitment firm reported a 13 per cent slide in pre-tax profits for the six months to the end of December.

Aer Lingus had another weak session falling nearly 6 per cent to €2.32 as speculation mounted that the Government may not back the proposed takeover by British Airways' parent IAG.

In contrast, Ryanair saw its own shares rise 6 cents or 0.5 per cent to €10.50.

After enjoying a bounce in the previous session on the back of its purchase of Belgian firm Joris Ide, insulation maker Kingspan dropped 54 cent or 3.2 per cent to close at €16.10.

Following financial trends in the wider euro zone, Bank of Ireland rose 3 per cent to finish the day at €0.27. LONDON Britain's main share index fell to near one-week lows, with Royal Dutch Shell weighing on the market after it missed earnings expectations.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 equity index ended down 0.2 per cent at 6,810.60 points as Shell dropped 4.9 per cent, among the worst-performing FTSE 100 stocks in percentage terms.

Oil has fallen almost 60 per cent since June due to economic weakness, low global demand and a boom in US shale production. BP weakened by 1.9 per cent. EUROPE European stocks closed little changed, paring earlier losses, as German inflation data missed forecasts.

Vallourec lost 3.8 per cent after saying it will write down the value of assets by as much as €1.2 billion as lower oil prices force some customers to cut spending. Deutsche Bank rose 2.6 per cent after posting a surprise quarterly profit.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 per cent to 368.76 at the close of trading, after earlier losing 0.8 per cent and rising 0.2 per cent.

The Stoxx 600 is up 7.7 per cent this month as the European Central Bank announced unprecedented measures to stimulate the region’s economy.

The Swiss Market Index advanced 1.5 per cent, for its fourth gain in five days, as the franc weakened and exporters including Nestlé rose. Nokia fell 3.9 per cent after saying that profitability will probably drop this quarter NEW YORK US stocks edged lower in choppy trading as earnings, including Alibaba's, and a further drop in US crude futures dragged shares lower, while a strong reading in the job market gave equities some support.

Alibaba Group shares dropped 9.2 per cent to $89.37 after the company's revenue missed expectations. The decline took shares of Yahoo, which said earlier this week it will spin off its Alibaba stake, down 5.9 per cent to $43.72.

By close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 225.48 points, or 1.31 per cent, to 17,416.85, the S&P 500 gained 19.09 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 2,021.25 and the Nasdaq gained 45.41 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 4,683.41.

Qualcomm had a 11.4 per cent drop to $62.88 after it trimmed its outlook for 2015. Coach shares rose 6.4 per cent to $38.80, McDonald's added 4.3 per cent to $92.62.

The energy sector of the S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent and was the worst performer as US crude oil fell below $44 a barrel for the first time since April 2009. – Additional reporting by Reuters