European shares fall as commodities, Lloyds weigh

[LONDON] European equities edged lower on Wednesday as investors digested a slew of earnings reports, with commodity-related stocks and British bank Lloyds under pressure, though well-recieved results from Santander buoyed Spanish stocks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.3 per cent, as a pullback in oil prices and miners were hit 6.5 per cent drop in Antofagasta's shares after its results.

British banking stock Lloyds also dropped 3 per cent after it too reported results.

Earnings weighed on chemical company Novozymes, which dropped 11.5 per cent and was the biggest faller on the STOXX 600 after posting a lower-than-expected third quarter operating profit and trimming its full-year outlook to the lower end of its previous range.

It was joined by Finnish packaging firm Huhtamaki, which fell 8.5 per cent after its own update fell short of expectations.

However, Spain's IBEX outperformed, rising 0.1 per cent after Banco Santander beat forecasts, sending shares up 1 per cent.

Logitech jumped more than 11 per cent after it saw a rise in Q2 retail revenue, while Kering also rose nearly 8 per cent after its Gucci unit posted its first double digit growth since 2012.

REUTERS