European shares fell on Friday following some disappointing company news, with automaker Daimler sliding after its results and a planned probe into its emissions certification process, while poor sales also hit luxury group Kering.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.5 per cent in early trading, although it remained on track for its second straight week of gains.
The European auto sector index fell 2.4 per cent, the top sectoral decliner, dragged down by a 4.7 per cent drop in Daimler after its first-quarter operating profit fell 9 per cent. The company also said it will be conducting an internal investigation into the certification process related to exhaust emissions in the United States.
Rival PSA Peugeot Citroen also fell 2.5 per cent after it was raided by anti-fraud investigators on Thursday as part of ongoing investigations on pollutants in the automobile sector.
French luxury group Kering’s shares were down 3.2 per cent after its flagship Gucci brand posted a lower-than-expected rise in first-quarter sales on Thursday amid a difficult environment for the luxury sector. The Kering group overall posted lower first-quarter sales than expectations.
However, shares in Zodiac Aerospace surged 12 per cent on signs of bid interest for it from Safran.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.