European Markets Pulled Back On Euro Strength

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Wednesday's session firmly in the red, despite the better than expected German business confidence report. The markets weakened after the Euro gained ground against the U.S. dollar. The weakness in the dollar was caused by the unexpected drop in U.S. durable goods orders for February. The sharp sell-off in U.S. equities caused the losses in Europe to worsen in the final hour of trade.

Meanwhile, Athens needs to come up with a list of reforms by early next week to get fresh aid from its creditors and avoid a messy default. Government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis stated yesterday that the detailed reform proposals would be delivered by Monday at the latest. Greece will run out of money by April 20 without any release of funds.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased by 1.09 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.99 percent.

The DAX of Germany declined by 1.17 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell by 1.32 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. dropped by 0.41 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 1.12 percent.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Lufthansa closed down by 1.11 percent. An A320 operated by its Germanwings crashed in the French Alps yesterday, killing about 150 people.

Munich Re finished lower by 0.62 percent, after Deutsche Bank reduced the stock to "Sell" from "Hold."

United Internet dropped by 2.10 percent, after HSBC cut the stock to "Hold" from "Overweight."

RWE climbed by 1.07 percent and E.ON added 1.27 percent.

In Paris, Airbus dropped by 2.07 percent, after yesterday's crash in the French Alps. Additionally, the company plans to sell about 1.38 million shares that it owns in Dassault Aviation.

In London, TUI gained 2.37 percent, after it said it would cancel and repay its 300 million euros hybrid bond at nominal value plus accrued interest.

Barclays fell by 2.36 percent. The stock was reduced to "Hold" from "Buy" at Investec.

Meanwhile, Balfour Beatty surged by 5.54 percent. The company reported a wider annual loss, and suspended its dividend for an year, but underlying revenue from continuing operations grew 2 percent in constant currency.

Further, Leo Quinn, newly appointed CEO of Balfour Beatty, said that over the next two years the company should work through the severe legacy of "problem" construction projects.

Home builder Bellway climbed by 2.89 percent, on impressive first-half results.

German business morale improved for the fifth straight month to an eight-month high in March as firms expressed greater optimism about future developments. The business climate index rose more-than-expected to 107.9 in March from 106.8 in February, the results of a survey by Munich-based Ifo Institute showed Wednesday. This was the highest score since July 2014 when the reading was 108. It was forecast to rise to 107.3.

French business confidence weakened in March but remained close to its long-term average, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday. The business confidence index fell to 99 from 100 in February. It was forecast to remain unchanged at 100.

U.K. mortgage approvals rose to a five-month high in February, the British Bankers' Association reported Wednesday. The number of mortgages approved for house purchases rose to a seasonally adjusted 37,305 in February from 36,517 in January. This was the highest since September 2014. It was expected to rise slightly to 36,650.

With orders for transportation equipment showing a notable pullback, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing that new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly decreased in the month of February.

The report said durable goods orders fell by 1.4 percent in February following a downwardly revised 2.0 percent increase in January. The drop in orders came as a surprise to economists, who had expected orders to climb by 0.7 percent compared to the 2.8 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.