European Shares Fall on Downbeat Earnings

European shares fell on Tuesday after a slew of weak corporate earnings soured sentiment.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 0.3% lower. Meanwhile, helping cut losses in the STOXX 600 was an 8.7% jump in German dialysis specialist Fresenius Medical Care (FMEG.DE) on better-than-feared first-quarter earnings.

SBB (SBBb.ST) fell 24.2%, extending its slide to a five-year low after the Swedish real estate company said on Monday it would halt dividend payments and scrap a planned share issue in the wake of a credit rating cut.

The move, coupled with declines of between 3.4% and 5.3% in peers Castellum (CAST.ST), Wallenstam (WALLb.ST) and Fabege (FABG.ST), saw Europe’s real estate sector (.SX86P) take the worst blow, down 2.9%.

Further, China-exposed luxury firms such as Hermes International SCA (HRMS.PA), Pernod Ricard SA (PERP.PA) and Kering SA (PRTP.PA) fell between 0.9% and 2.7% after weak data on the country’s imports and exports.

Most European bourses edged lower, while London’s FTSE 100 (.FTSE) shed 0.2% after a long weekend.

Source: Qatar News Agency