The pan European STOXX 600 index tumbled 0.7%on earnings gloom،weak US economic

The pan European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX)، was 0.7% lower، at the close in London after shedding as much as 1.4% by 12:15 p.m. today Yhursday، in London، its biggest intraday slide since April، that European stocks tumbled on the busiest day of the corporate earnings season، following underwhelming reports from a slate of companies including Kering SA and Nestle SA.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.7% at the close in London، with France’s CAC 40 Index sank 1.2%، bringing total declines since a May peak close to 10%.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index hit by bleak earnings from consumer giants

The pan-European STOXX 600 index dropped on Thursday، European stocks hit by bleak earnings from consumer giant Nestle and Dutch digital payments firm Adyen، while sentiment also took a hit following weak economic growth data from the world's largest economy the United States.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index as European stocks sank with German share price index DAX was down by more than 0.5% at the stock exchange in Frankfurt.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index retreat leading by industrial goods

The pan-European STOXX 600 index retreat as industrial goods (.SXNP)، lost 1.8%، leading sectoral declines، as Adyen (ADYEN.AS)، slumped 18.4% after lower-than-expected first-quarter sales and analysts' concerns around collected fees being at an all-time low.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index declined with Nestle (NESN.S)، dropped 2% after the world's biggest packaged food company missed first-quarter organic sales growth estimates، dragging the food and beverages sector (.SX3P)، down 1.1%.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index hit a volatile patch

After signs of recovery earlier this week، the pan-European STOXX 600 index hit a volatile patch as investors assessed the impact of record-high interest rates on corporate performance، while staying confident of a European Central Bank rate cut in June.

Technology (.SX8P)، also shed 1%، tracking sharp declines in U.S. peers after Meta Platforms (META.O)، signalled its costly bet on AI could take years to pay off، while amplifying the beaten-up sentiment، data showed the U.S. economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly two years، but an acceleration in inflation reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve would not cut rates before September.

Fears about stagflation in the U.S

This raises fears about stagflation in the U.S.، which no equity investor wants to think about and if there are problems in the largest economy، it's going to spill back into other intertwined economies، as European economies and the U.S. are quite dependent upon each other.

Meanwhile، ECB' Isabel Schnabel said the final stage of getting eurozone inflation back to 2% will be bumpy، with an erosion in productivity، along with high services costs، posing some of the biggest risks.

Finnish refiner Neste slumped 13% after first-quarter operating profit missed expectations

Among other stocks affecting the pan-European STOXX 600 index، Finnish refiner Neste (NESTE.HE)، slumped 13% after first-quarter operating profit missed expectations، Hermes (HRMS.PA)، fell 2.4% as investors booked profits even through the Birkin bag maker reported a 17% surge in first-quarter sales and peers LVMH (LVMH.PA)، as well as Richemont (CFR.S)، lost 2.8% and 1.2%، respectively.

The broader luxury sector (.STXLUXP) of the pan-European STOXX 600 index، fell 1.7% with French software maker Dassault Systemes (DAST.PA)، opens new tab declined 4.2% following first-quarter results.

Spain's and Britain's benchmark touched a record high

However، Spain's Sabadell (SABE.MC)، jumped 7.6% after forecasting lending income would continue growing in 2024، while Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE)، rose 8.2% following a better-than-expected increase in first-quarter profit.

Bucking the broader trend، Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 touched a record high، led by a 16.1% surge in miner Anglo American (AAL.L)، on a buyout offer from BHP Group (BHP.AX).