European stocks slipped on Wednesday, weighed down by some weak corporate earnings, while the Greek market underperformed after euro zone officials delayed a meeting on the country’s bailout.
Greece’s benchmark ATG equity index fell 4 per cent, making it the worst-performing market in the region.
The Athens market fell following the Eurogroup saying late on Tuesday that euro zone finance ministers would not meet on Thursday and needed more time to discuss two sets of Greek reforms that would unlock new loans.
The broader, pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which hit a three-month high last week, was down 0.2 per cent, with markets held back by some frail-looking corporate results.
“We’ve had a good run-up in the last couple of weeks, but I think we’re still in a bear market. My overall roadmap from here is down,” said Andreas Clenow, hedge fund manager at Zurich-based ACIES Asset Management.
Shares in state-controlled Finnish refiner Neste slumped 7 per cent after Neste reported a bigger-than-expected fall in first-quarter earnings.
Technology stock AMS also lost ground after Apple posted its first-ever decline in iPhone sales and its first revenue drop in 13 years.
On the positive side, German sportswear group Adidas surged 6 per cent after hiking its guidance for 2016 as it reported a 35 per cent jump in first-quarter operating profit.
Barclays also rose 1.5 per cent. Even though it reported a slump in profits, some traders pointed to a relatively strong performance at the bank’s UK division as helping to boost the shares.
Nevertheless, some analysts remained cautious on the near-term outlook for the stock market.
“I don't see that many good earnings out there. I am still in bearish mode,” said Terry Torrison, managing director at Monaco-based McLaren Securities.