Europe Stocks Fall From 7-Year High as Siemens, Philips Retreat

By Alan Soughley and Inyoung Hwang  

European stocks declined from a seven-year high, snapping an eight-day winning streak, as Siemens AG and Royal Philips NV posted disappointing earnings.
Siemens slid 3 percent, leading industrial companies lower, after Europe’s largest engineering firm reported a drop in first-quarter profit. Philips lost 4.4 percent after saying it is behind on its 2006 financial targets. Banks fell the most of the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600, as National Bank of Greece SA and Alpha Bank AE tumbled.
The Stoxx 600 slipped 0.4 percent to 370.99 at 10:11 a.m. in London. The index on Monday capped its longest winning streak since April amid optimism about European Central Bank stimulus, while Greek shares slid as opposition party Syriza won the Sunday election. The Swiss Market Index rose 1 percent, its third day of gains, as Swiss National Bank (SNBN) Vice President Jean-Pierre Danthine said it is still willing to intervene in currency markets even after giving up its cap on the franc.
“With Siemens, it’s worrying in the sense that
Germany’s an industrial power and a good part of their business is exports,” Jasper Lawler, a market analyst at CMC Markets Plc in London, said by telephone. “There’s going to be a lot of focus on the negotiations between Greece and the Troika. Whenever we hear parties involved making commentary, there’s going to be volatility. It’s adding to the distrust of how the euro zone functions.”
The Stoxx 600 has rallied 12 percent since a low on Jan. 6 in anticipation of additional central-bank stimulus measures. The gauge jumped 5.1 percent last week, its biggest gain in three years, as the ECB unveiled an asset-purchase program worth at least 1.1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion).

Greek Decline

Greek shares fell for a second day, erasing their Friday rally, as new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took office promising to end austerity. The ASE Index (ASE) dropped 3 percent, with lenders falling the most. Eurobank Ergasias SA, National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank SA plunged more than 10 percent.
National benchmark equity indexes of Italy and Spain dropped more than 0.7 percent, while France’s CAC 40 Index and Germany’s DAX Index lost at least 0.4 percent.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.3 percent. Officials in New York warned residents to stay at home as a blizzard forecasters call “life-threatening” prompted authorities to shut highways, bridges, transit systems, schools, Broadway shows and sporting events from New Jersey through New England.
Exchanges plan to remain open, with the New York Stock Exchange’s owner Intercontinental Exchange Inc. saying it’ll be business as usual.
Among stocks advancing, EasyJet Plc advanced 3 percent after posting an increase in first-quarter revenue.