INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
LONDON: European shares opened lower on Wednesday as continuing trade tensions and spreading worries about emerging market currencies cut
investor appetite for risky assets.
At 0728 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.4 per cent, with losses spread across industry
sectors and trading centres.
A number of corporate announcements triggered strong swings, notably in BioMerieux.
The French pharmaceutical
group was the best performer on the index, up 8.3 per cent after better than expected first-half results and a raised 2018 outlook.
In the
same sector, Bayer fell 3 per cent after reporting a disappointing 3.9 per cent gain in underlying core earnings for the quarter.
Another
French firm was also among the highest risers
Outdoor advertising group JCDecaux added 6.8 per cent after a rating upgrade by BofA Merrill.
Snuff and cigar maker Swedish Match fell 5.2
pct after an institutional investor sold a stake of 4.3 million shares at a discount
