Leusure Stocks Rebound in Europe, Credit Suisse to Cut 2,000 Jobs

Lucy Stoeva
23 Mar, 2016
New York City

European stock indexes closed flat on Wednesday as weakness in mining stocks offset a rebound in travel and leisure stocks one day after the terrorist attacks in Belgium. Credit Suisse will cut about 2,000 jobs as part of its global restructuring. William Hill issued a profit warning.

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt, Germany – European stock indexes closed flat on Wednesday as weakness in mining stocks offset a rebound in travel and leisure stocks one day after the terrorist attacks in Belgium. Credit Suisse will cut about 2,000 jobs as part of its global restructuring. William Hill issued a profit warning.[/R]

European stock indexes closed nearly unchanged on Wednesday as weakness in mining stocks offset a rebound in travel and leisure stocks one day after the terrorist attacks in Belgium.

On Tuesday, airlines, hotels, and travel service stocks sharply declined after the deadly explosions in Brussels international airport and a central subway station.

Thomas Cook Group rebounded 2.9%, Deutsche Lufthansa added 1.31%, and low-cost airline Ryanair Holdings surged 3%.

However, mining stocks weighed on the market as Anglo American dropped 5.4%, Antofagasta lost 3.1%, BHP erased 2.6%, and Glencore plunged 4%.

William Hill tumbled 11.2% after the gaming company issued a profit warning due to tougher regulations and disappointing results from major horseracing and soccer events.

Shares of rival bookmaker Ladbrokes dropped 2.4%.

The euro fell 0.32% against the dollar to $1.1183.

In London, the FTSE 100 was up 2.78 to 6,195.52, while in Frankfurt, the DAX index rose 29.90, or 0.3%, to 10,019.90.

In Paris, the CAC 40 index fell 12.82, or 0.3%, to 4,419.15.

Credit Suisse Group AG gained 1.68% to €13.28 after the Swiss investment bank announced it would cut about 2,000 jobs globally as part of its restructuring.

Kingfisher Plc surged 6.1% to 371.9 pence, after the retailer announced progress in its restructuring plan and said profit dropped 20% in 2015.

The home improvement retailer reported profit of £512 million in 2015, down from £644 million in 2014.

However, adjusted pre-tax profit, which excludes restructuring costs, grew 0.3% to £686 million.

Sales in the U.K. and Ireland rose 5.6% over the year due to stronger housing construction market.

Last year, the company announced plans to close 65 B&Q stores over two years. Now it reported that 30 stores have already been shut down.

Kingfisher also said it was making progress on its transformation plan, which aims to increase annual pre-tax profits by £500 million within five years and return £600 million to shareholders.

Poste Italiane SpA jumped 3.4% to €6.78 after the Italian post office operator announced a dividend of €0.34 per share for 2015 after the company became publicly traded in October.

The company said it would pay at least 80% of its net profit in dividends on 2015 and 2016 results.

Sports Direct Plc extended losses and fell 5.41% to 358.7 pence on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the retailer shed 10% after saying its full-year underlying earnings will be at the bottom of previous estimates.

William Hill Plc tumbled 11.2% to 328.60 pence after the gaming company issued a profit warning due to weaker-than-expected results at its online business.

Full-year operating profit is now expected at the range of £260 to £280 million, down from £291.4 million in the previous year.

The company blamed profit decline on tougher regulation and disappointing results in last week’s Cheltenham horseracing event.

William Hill also said it was negotiating to invest in Openbet, a gambling software firm.