European stocks flat

Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:26pm BST
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By Patrizia Kokot

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares remained flat in midday trade on Monday as declines among food producer stocks offset gains in banks fuelled by Barclays' (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) capital raising plan.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was flat at 1,267.86 points by 10:58 a.m. GMT (11:58 a.m.). The index has lost more than 5 percent so far this month as inflation concerns and persistent funding worries at banks have taken their toll.

An upwards revision in euro zone CPI data for May to 3.7 percent on the year, from the initial estimate of 3.6 percent last month, did nothing to elevate sentiment.

"It continues to come through very firm and highlights the problems the market is having to deal with - rising inflation, higher bond yields, an inverted yield curve and higher bond volatility and the macro backdrop isn't helping the equity markets," strategist Gareth Evans at UBS said.

Food producer stocks were the largest weighted losers following downgrades by UBS, which noted concerns over the sector's premium valuation and volume growth in emerging markets.

Unilever (ULVR.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell by more than 3.5 percent and Cadbury (CBRY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) by more than 2 percent as UBS cut its stance to "sell". Nestle (NESN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1.4 percent.

While food producers were out of favour at UBS, Evans notes that investors should look for "stable cash returns" in their investments at the moment, pointing to food retailers such as Tesco (TSCO.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Metro (MEOG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Morrisons (MRW.L: Quote, Profile, Research), as well as pharmaceutical stocks .

BANKS GAIN  Continued...

 
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