European stocks drop on poor earnings

London - European equities retreated on Tuesday, with London hit by poorly-received results from British retailer Marks & Spencer and mobile phone giant Vodafone.

London's FTSE 100 index of top companies dropped 0.62% to close at 6 802 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 slid 0.21% to 9 639.08 points and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.39% to 4 452.35 points.

Milan added 0.3% and Madrid climbed 0.27%.

"Dominating the headlines ... were Vodafone and M&S, which both saw falls in their share prices," analyst Chris Beauchamp at trading firm IG said of the London market.

Annual profits

Vodafone's shares topped the FTSE 100 fallers board, slumping 5.5% to close at 205.30 pence despite surging annual net profits, as the group forecast that earnings would slide in 2014/2015.

"Those (investors) looking for capital growth will be disappointed that the company expects a drop in earnings for the coming year," added Beauchamp.

Marks & Spencer's share price shed 1.1% to 446 pence, after announcing that underlying profits before tax slid 3.9% to 623 million in the 52 weeks to 29 March from a year earlier.

That marked the third successive drop in underlying annual profits.

Plunged

The group, involved in a big investment and rejuvenation programme, did well with its food lines, but the clothing sector struggled.

"Today's (Tuesday)announcement ... has once again prompted shareholders to ask questions about the pace of the latest turnaround strategy," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

Shares in Credit Suisse meanwhile climbed a day after the Swiss banking giant was fined $2.6bn by US authorities after pleading guilty to helping Americans avoid taxes.

After skyrocketing at the open, Credit Suisse shares closed the day up 0.88% at 26.30 Swiss francs on the Swiss stock exchange's SMI index, which slid 0.12% overall.

Meanwhile AstraZeneca's share price recovered somewhat after having plunged a day earlier when the drugmaker rejected a 'final' $117bn takeover bid from US rival Pfizer.

The British drugmaker argued that the 55-per-share offer undervalued it, forcing Pfizer to walk away.

Its shares climbed 0.49% on Tuesday to 4 308.50 pence, having plummeted by 11.11% on Monday.