Europe: Shares steady, Deutsche Bank underperforms

[LONDON] European shares were steady on Thursday, although Deutsche Bank fell and underperformed the broader market after it warned of a record pre-tax loss in the third quarter.

Deutsche Bank's shares were down by around 2 per cent in early session trading, underperforming a flat performance on Germany's benchmark DAX equity index and a 0.2 per cent rise on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index.

Deutsche Bank said it was bracing for a record pre-tax loss of 6 billion euros (US$6.7 billion) in the third quarter.

The German company's problems caused the STOXX Europe 600 Bank Index to fall 0.5 per cent, but European healthcare stocks rose 1.2 per cent after US biotechnology companies rallied overnight in New York.

REUTERS