European markets fall amid weak earnings reports
Santander, Shell, Teliasonera report weak earnings
31 January, 19:31
(ANSA) - Milan, January 31 - Markets fell across Europe on
Thursday as weak earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2012
indicated slower-than-expected economic growth in the period.
Companies that reported earnings on Thursday include Spanish
bank Santander, which fell 3.5% after reporting fourth-quarter
profit.Europe's biggest oil company Shell fell 2.8% after it reported fourth-quarter profit figures that missed analysts' estimated, and Sweden's largest phone company TeliaSonera AB dropped 1.7% after saying its fourth-quarter profit dropped 3.2%.
Milan's FTSE MIB index bucked the trend, rising 0.9% to 17,439 points. The yield spread between 10-year Italian bonds and the German benchmark debt, a barometer of Italy's borrowing costs in the eurozone crisis, closed at 263 points with 10-year yields at 4.3%.
The Frankfurt Dax bourse fell 0.5% to 7,776 points, while the Paris Cac 40 Index dropped 0.9% to 3,732 points. Madrid's Ibex index fell 2.5 % to 8,362 points. London's Ftse-100 stock market fell 0.7% to 6,276 points.
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