European Markets Fall on Oil Price Weakness

Lucy Stoeva
25 Jan, 2016
New York City

Energy companies dragged European markets down after the Friday rally in oil prices lost steam. Russian GDP dropped 3.7% in 2015 after growing 0.7% in 2014. In Germany, the business climate index fell to a 12-month low.

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Energy companies dragged European markets down after the Friday rally in oil prices lost steam. Russian GDP dropped 3.7% in 2015 after growing 0.7% in 2014. In Germany, the business climate index fell to a 12-month low.[/R]

Energy companies dragged European markets down on Monday after the rebound of oil prices lost steam.

Oil prices dipped in negative territory after rallying nearly 10% on Friday. Brent crude fell 3.76% to $30.97 a barrel, while WTI crude oil tumbled 4.29% to $30.81 a barrel.

Norwegian drilling company Seadrill dropped 8.9%, and the French oil services provider Technip lost 4.5%.

Among other oil end energy companies, Total SA fell 1.76% in Paris, Statoil SA slid 3% in Oslo, and Repsol in Madrid shed 3.1%.

Russia’s GDP shrank 3.7% in 2015 after expanding 0.7% in 2014, according to Rosstat, the government controlled statistics service.

The ruble’s devaluation failed to spark the Russian economy due to lack of investment and production capacities, said Alexey Ulyukayev, the Russian Economic Development Minister.

In Germany, Europe’s largest economy, the business climate index fell to 107.3 in January, representing a 12-month low, mainly due to concerns over exports, according to the Ifo Institute.

Defying the trend, the Athens Composite Index edged up 0.07% to 534.72 after the financially troubled country received an upgrade of its Standard & Poor''s rating on Friday.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index slipped 36.82 or 0.62% to 5,863.19 and in Frankfurt the DAX index fell 59.12 or 0.61% to 9,705.76.

In Paris, CAC 40 index was down 39.15 or 0.90% to 4,297.54.

In Copenhagen, Jyske Bank S/A rose 2.63% to 284.90 Danish kroner after the bank upgraded its profit outlook.

For 2015, the Danish bank expects a pre-tax profit of 3,204 million Danish kroner and net profit of 2,476 million kroner.

Siemens AG inched down 0.4% to €82.91 on unconfirmed reports that the German conglomerate plans to buy CD-adapco, a privately held U.S. engineering software company, for $1 billion.