European shares fail to hold rebound

Frankfurt - European equities failed to hold on to an early rebound amid a lack of catalysts and thin trading as the Christmas holiday nears.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1% to 356.77 at 12:29, after earlier rising as much as 0.8% and falling 0.5%. The volume of shares traded was 30 percent lower than the 30-day average. The equity benchmark is down 7.4% this month and is heading for its worst December since 2002.

“The market is lacking confidence because there’s nothing really out there that can give investors any reason to be confident,” said Carsten Hilck, who manages $7.2bn at Union Investment in Frankfurt. “Liquidity is fading as we go into year end, there’s no catalyst to move the market higher. It’s getting very quiet and the market is pretty much on its own now.”

Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.1%, after earlier rebounding as much as 1%. Shares tumbled 3.6% yesterday, the most since August, after the inconclusive weekend election and the Socialists’ opposition to a new term for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy set the scene for drawn-out negotiations over the shape of the next administration.

Oil-and-gas companies increased the most of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx 600, with BG Group and BP contributing the most to gains, as Brent recovered from an 11- year low. SAP SE dragged a measure of technology-related companies to the worst performance on the index.

Among stocks moving on corporate news, Natixis SA climbed 1.3% after saying that one capital-ratio measure already exceeds the minimum regulatory requirement.