European shares fall at opening

European shares were lower at the opening on Wednesday as a batch of corporate results failed to change the negative trend set on Wall Street overnight.

At 0900 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.3 per cent with most bourses and sectors falling.

France’s Biomerieux was the biggest faller after publishing disappointing annual results, dropping about 9.0 per cent, reports Reuters.

German drugmaker Bayer’s lost 3.3 per cent as earnings were dragged lower by discounts to crop protection distributors in Brazil.

Belgium’ Solvay also lost some ground, down 2.2 per cent as it forecast lower growth in 2018, with a fall in profitability at its traditional chemicals business.

Better news came from Dutch-Belgian supermarket operator Ahold Delhaize which expects to save roughly 200 million euros from US tax cuts this year. Its shares rose 2.1 per cent.

In the banking sector, EFG International fell 8.7 per cent after reporting a worse-than-expected full year net loss as it absorbed integration costs from its takeover of rival Swiss private bank BSI.

Austrian lender Erste Group got a better market response to its earnings and jumped 3.6 per cent.

In the UK, ITV lost 7.5 per cent. The British broadcaster reported a 5.0 per cent drop in adjusted full-year earnings, reflecting a tough advertising environment.

Dialog Semiconductor led gainers with a 7.9 per cent rise after it published its results.