EU Retail Sales Fall; Car Sales Decline

123jump.com Staff
13 Mar, 2009
New York City

European markets closed mixed on news of disappointing news from Frankfurt automakers. The EU statistics office in also reported that retail sales in the region fell for the eighth consecutive month on falling disposable incomes.

[R]1:00PM New York, 6:00 Frankfurt – European stocks trim early gains. Retail sales plunge.[/R]

European indexes trimmed early gains to close mixed after financials and automakers in Frankfurt retreated as telecomm companies and banks edged higher in Paris.

A report by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association showing that demand for Germany’s leading car models, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Opel declined in February hit automakers. The news overshadowed a fresh EU commitment to prop up the region’s automotive sector by availing finance for the manufacturing of fuel-efficient cars. Car sales in Europe were down 18 percent in February, according to the region’s association of carmakers.

The Euro gained against the dollar.

The European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg also reported that retail sales in the region slumped for the eighth consecutive month on falling disposable incomes.

Market Sentiment

In Frankfurt trading the DAX 30 Index retreated 0.1% or 2.62 to 2,953.60.

Of the 30 DAX index shares, 12 rose and 18 lost.

Deutsche Boerse rose 7.5% followed by gains in Fresenius Medica of 2.4%, in Allianz Se-REG of 1.5%, in K+S AG of 1.4% and Beiersdorf AG of 1.2%.
Thysenkrupp AG led decliners with a loss of 5.3% followed by losses in BMW WK of 3.3%, in Salzgitter of 3.1%, in Deutsche Bank RG of 3.1% and Infineon Tech of 2.9%.

In Paris trading the CAC 40 rose 0.5% to 2,706.72 after touching an intra-day high of 2,771.72.

Alcatel-Lucent climbed 14.3% followed by gains in France Telecom of 2.9%, in BNP Paribas of 2.9%, in Sanofi-Aventis of 2% and Vivendi of 1.5%.
Dexia led decliners with a loss of 15.7% followed by losses in Lagardere S.C.A. of 6.4%, in Lafarge of 4.9%, in Saint Gobain of 3.1% and Axa of 2.8%.

Annualised Retail Sales in Europe fell in January

The European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg today reported that January retail sales slumped 1.2% year-on-year in the EU-27, and 2.2% in the Euro area.

On a month-on-month comparison, the volume of retail trade in the EU-27 rose 0.6% with the Euro area also recovering 0.1%.

Compared to December 2008, sales of “food, drinks and tobacco” rose 1.2% in the EU-27, but fell 0.2% in the Euro area. The non-food sector grew 0.4% in both zones.

The highest monthly growth rates were recorded in Romania (+13.3%), Portugal (+4.1%) and Finland (3%), while the severest contraction occurred in Latvia (-11.9%), Lithuania (-8.5%) and Slovakia (-4.9%).

Annual comparisons show that retail sales grew most in the UK, Poland and Sweden, but fell the steepest in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

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