European Indexes Slide; Italy Producer Price Inflation Surges

Arthi Gupta
30 Dec, 2010
New York City

The European indexes declined after EuroCoin Indicator climbed in December. Swiss current account surplus improved in the third quarter. Spain current account deficit narrowed in October. Italian manufacturing sentiment rose in December.

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – The European indexes declined after EuroCoin Indicator climbed in December. Swiss current account surplus improved in the third quarter. Spain current account deficit narrowed in October. Italian manufacturing sentiment rose in December.[/R]

U.S. stocks traded sideways after weekly jobless claims fell more than anticipated and Asian markets traded mixed on Chinese manufacturing data.

China''s manufacturing activity rose at the slowest pace in three months in December, survey data showed.

The Markit/HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers'' index eased to a seasonally adjusted 54.4 in December, from 55.3 in November.

In Paris CAC 40 Index declined 35.49 or 0.91% to close at 3,855.16 and in Frankfurt DAX Index edged lower 81.28 or 1.16% to close at 6,914.19.

EuroCoin Indicator Climbs

The EuroCoin indicator rose for a third consecutive month in December, data from the Center for Economic Policy Research and the Bank of Italy showed on Thursday.

The indicator, that evaluates the current economic situation in the euro area, rose to 0.49 in December from November''s 0.45.

The increase was mainly due to improvement in business confidence and positive trend in industrial production, the report said.

Swiss Current Account Surplus Improves

The Swiss National Bank said Switzerland''s current account surplus rose to 21.2 billion francs in the September quarter from 19 billion francs in the June quarter. The increase was driven by a doubling in the income account surplus to 9.3 billion francs.

However, the goods account surplus fell to 4.1 billion francs in the September quarter from 4.7 billion francs in the June quarter.

Hungary''s Current Account Surplus Declines’

Hungary current account balance surplus declined to €477 million in the third quarter, compared to the €584 million surplus in the second quarter, according to data released by the central bank today.

Dutch PPI Rises

Dutch factory gate inflation accelerated for a third consecutive month in November, latest data from Statistics Netherlands showed.

Output prices rose 9.6% annually in November, as against the 9.1% increase in October. It is the strongest rate since May.

Producer prices for domestic sales grew 7.4% annually in November, versus October''s 7.3%. Prices for foreign sales rose 11.2% in November, after a 10.5% increase in October.

On a monthly basis, overall output prices rose 1.1% in November compared with the 0.8% increase in October.

Italian Manufacturing Sentiment Up, PPI Surges

An indicator of Italian manufacturing sentiment rose in December, as new business orders rebounded.

Think tank ISAE''s business sentiment index, a gauge of confidence among 4,000 companies, rose to 103.0 in December from 101.7 in November, mainly due to a continued revival of domestic and external demand, and stable production levels.

Italian producer price inflation advanced to 4% in November from 3.8% in October, data from statistics office Istat showed.

Bulgaria PPI Soars

Bulgaria''s domestic producer price index surged 11.1% annually in November, the National Statistics Institute said. On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 1.1%.

Producer prices in the manufacturing industry climbed 10.1% and price index for the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply rose 12.1%.

Spain Current Account Deficit Narrows

Spain''s current account deficit shrank to €2.7 billion in October compared to €4.9 billion the same month a year ago, the Bank of Spain said on Thursday.

The goods account deficit narrowed to €3.2 billion in October from €3.5 billion a year ago.

Portugal Industrial Output Rises, Retail Sales Fall

Portuguese industrial output rose 0.7% annually in November, following a 2% decline in October, data from Statistics Portugal showed.

On a monthly basis, production grew 0.7% in November compared to the 1.9% fall in October.

The statistics office further reported that retail sales in Portugal slipped 4.8% annually in November, compared to the 1.2% fall in October.

Sales had been declining for a sixth successive month. On a monthly basis, sales fell 4.1% in November compared to the 0.6% rise in October.

Gainers & Losers

ArcelorMittal S.A. gained 1.58% to $37.85 after the global steel producer extended the time for acceptance of its offer to buy all of Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.''s outstanding common shares at a price of C$1.25 in cash per common share and all outstanding common share purchase warrants issued pursuant to a warrant indenture dated January 31, 2007 at a price of C$0.10 in cash per 2007 warrant until January 10, 2011.

COLT Group SA slumped 3.71% to 129.70 pence after the provider of business communications said it would appoint Mark Ferrari as chief financial officer from March 31, 2011.

Fiat S.p.A. declined 1.87% to €14.71 after the Italian automobile manufacturer reached an agreement with unions at its Naples plant on staffing levels. The company will take on 5,600 new workers at the plant in January.

Daimler AG dropped 1.15% to €50.73 after the German car maker issued a cautious outlook for the U.S. van sales in the current year.