Europe Markets

European markets slide close lower on global growth concerns; UBS shares fall 3% after earnings

Key Points
  • The euro Stoxx 600 slipped 0.41 percent on Tuesday.
  • UBS shares sank more than 3 percent after fresh earnings missed estimates, as the lender noted outflows at its wealth management division.
  • Shares of U.K. airline easyJet also fell after a trading update highlighted that operations had been affected by the drone disruption at Gatwick last year.

European stock markets ended in negative territory on Tuesday amid concerns on slowing global growth.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index came under renewed pressure in afternoon trade, closing provisionally down 0.41 percent with all major bourses falling into the red.

European markets


Stocks in Europe extended losses after Wall Street started Tuesday off on a negative note, with the Dow posting triple-digit loss in its morning session.

The bulk of sectors traded lower, with banks and miners both down over 1 percent. Looking closer at individual stocks, UBS shares sank by a little over 3  percent after fresh earnings on Tuesday missed estimates, as it noted outflows worth nearly $8 billion at its wealth management division.

Sticking with Europe's biggest losers, IG Group tumbled over 8.5 percent after posting its latest corporate earnings, which saw pretax profit fall to £113 million ($146 million) in the six months to November-end, compared to £136.2 million the year before. The group added that it expects revenue for 2019 to be lower than 2018.

Meanwhile, shares of U.K. airline easyJet soared to the top of Europe's benchmarks, up 6.2 percent despite receiving a trading update which highlighted that operations had been affected by the 2018 drone disruption at Gatwick.

IMF cuts global growth outlook

More broadly, sentiment remains weak in Europe after some recent warnings on global growth. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its forecast for global growth in 2019 on Monday. It now expects 3.5 percent growth this year and 3.6 percent in 2020, down 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points from its last forecasts in October.

The Fund said it had lowered its forecast for a number of reasons including trade tariffs between China and the United States and weakness in the German auto industry.

Meanwhile, Beijing announced Monday that the Chinese economy grew 6.6 percent in 2018, the slowest pace since 1990. Stocks in Asia traded lower Tuesday afternoon on the back of the IMF's latest outlook.

The forecasts were released on the eve of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Heads of state, government officials, business leaders and policymakers are gathered in the Swiss resort this week to discuss the world's most pressing problems with this year's theme focusing on how to make globalization more inclusive.