European shares dipped on Tuesday following a slightly weaker session on Wall Street as stocks tired from a streak of record highs. Strong results from luxury group LVMH, however, helped support stocks across the consumer goods sector.
The STOXX 600 slipped 0.1 per cent but held near three-month highs, after MSCI's global stock index touched a fresh all-time high in early deals.
Spain's IBEX lagged European peers, down 0.5 per cent as investors awaited an address by Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont to the regional parliament at 1600 GMT, after the market close.
UBS strategists said they expected “limited" underperformance of Spanish equities, adding the IBEX's sharp drop last week was largely due to its strong weighting towards financials, telecoms and utilities which are especially sensitive to domestic issues.
“The sharp fall of the Spanish market last week is unjustified, in our view, ignoring the fact that 70 percent of MSCI Spain's total revenues are generated outside Spain,” they added in a note.
LVMH fired the starting gun on third-quarter results season, driving stocks across the luxury and consumer sectors higher after robust results.
Shares in the world' biggest luxury group rose 1.8 per cent after it beat sales and revenue forecasts in its third quarter, setting a high hurdle for European luxury peers to beat.
Luxury brands Christian Dior, Gucci owner Kering and Moncler also gained, rising 1.6 to 1.8 per cent on strong performance from the group Bernstein luxury analyst Mario Ortelli said is a “bellwether” for the industry.
“The strength and resilience of the core LV brand, and the number of brands ramping up on the development curve (i.e. Bulgari, Sephora, Fendi), mean it is well positioned to take action on potential acquisitions and/or buybacks,” Ortelli added.
Swiss fragrance and flavours maker Givaudan jumped 3.7 per cent to a record high after the firm stuck to its 2020 targets and reported third-quarter sales up 5.7 per cent, beating analysts' estimates.
“The strong Q3 growth gives Givaudan's investment case a further positive sentiment boost, which comes after worries on the negative impact of natural raw material price increases (vanilla, citrus, onions) on profitability,” said Baader Helvea analysts.
Dassault Aviation shares fell 4.5 per cent, with traders citing comments from the CEO over delays to its Falcon 5X business jet.
Goldman Sachs' upgrade to “buy” boosted shares in Spanish wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa up 3.6 per cent. Analysts at the bank said the firm was the best positioned to benefit from strong growth in wind power capacity.