Europe Movers: Ashtead, Bayer, Compass Group, Energy Stocks, Halma, Julius Baer

Inga Muller
20 Nov, 2023
Frankfurt

European market indexes lacked direction after last week's rally, and bond yields drifted lower on the stable interest rate outlook for the next two months. 

The DAX index decreased 0.1% to 15,902.18, the CAC-40 index rose 0.2% to 7,250.84, and the FTSE 100 index fell 0.1% to 7,494.94.

The yield on 10-year German bonds increased to 2.59%; French bonds traded higher to 3.15%; the UK gilts eased to 4.09%; and Italian bonds inched higher to 4.33%.

Energy stocks traded higher after crude oil prices extended Friday's sharp jump of 4% on reports that Saudi Arabia is looking to extend voluntary production cuts into next year.

BP, Shell, Repsol, Eni, and TotalEnergies gained between 0.4% and 1.5%.

Bayer AG plunged 19.4% to €33.85 after the German pharmaceutical and biotech company lost a key U.S. trial against its weed killer Roundup.

Moreover, the company also stopped the main study of its top experimental drug.

A Missouri jury ordered the company to pay $1.56 billion to four plaintiffs who successfully argued in court that the company's weed killer caused health injuries, including cancer.

After the trial, the jury found the company's Monsanto business liable for negligence, design defects, and the company's failure to inform customers of the potential dangers of using Roundup.

Julius Baer Gruppe AG dropped 10.6% to CHF 49.81 after the Swiss financial service company lowered its annual profit expectations.

The company said its 2023 net income is expected to be lower than in the previous year because of a higher year-to-date effective income tax rate and higher loan loss provisions in November.

Net assets under management in the first ten months to October increased by 3%, or CHF 11 billion, to CHF 435 billion.

Ashtead Group plc dropped 10.1% to 4,712.10 pence after the UK-based power equipment rental company said its annual profit is likely to fall short of market expectations.

Compass Group plc declined 4.5% to 1,999.50 pence after the UK-based catering service provider reported lower-than-expected earnings.

Halma plc advanced 2.4% to 2,101.0 pence after the UK-based safety equipment company agreed to acquire the TeDan group of companies for $89.1 million with additional milestone payments.