Europe: Shares fall for fifth day as real estate stocks tumble

EUROPEAN shares fell for a fifth day in a row on Wednesday, with real estate stocks hammered by bearish brokerage comments on UK landlords, while negative corporate updates dented shares of Dutch insurers and Swiss bank UBS.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.2 per cent to close at a six-month low.

Europe’s real estate index fell 2 per cent after Jefferies downgraded several British landlords, saying London’s embattled office market is in “rental recession” as empty workspace across the West End, City and Canary Wharf business hubs hits a 30-year high.

Shares of Land Securities, British Land, and Derwent London fell in the range of 3.4 per cent and 4.3 per cent.

Overall, the market mood remained gloomy as investors fretted over the possibility of major central banks holding interest rates elevated for a prolonged period, with weakness in China’s property sector also adding to the downbeat mood.

“As we come to the end of the week, the month and the quarter there remains a great deal of uncertainty as to what sort of economy we will see in Q4, and whether the determination of central banks to keep rates high will change if we see further deterioration in the economic outlook,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

The Stoxx 600 looked set for its first quarterly loss in four, with the German DAX among the worst regional performers.

Meanwhile, shares of Dutch insurers took a hit as court rulings in a years-long fight over investment-linked products re-opened the prospect of large compensation claims.

NN Group tumbled 18.8 per cent, while peer ASR dropped 14.2 per cent.

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“Investors are taking a look at what’s happened and wondering exactly what it might mean,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

“Obviously it paid out a chunk of compensation, but with consumer groups now saying that the compensation was too low, that does ring warning bells.”

UBS fell about 3 per cent after a report that the US Department of Justice has stepped up scrutiny into alleged compliance failures that helped Russian clients evade sanctions.

Meanwhile, the risk premium of Italian government debt over the German sovereign hit its highest since May ahead of Italy’s announcement of its budget plan.

Italy’s main stocks index dipped 0.3 per cent after a minister said the government will cut Italy’s growth forecast to 0.8 per cent this year from a previous 1 per cent.

H&M rose 3.4 per cent as the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer reported a slightly bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit boosted by cost cuts. REUTERS