David Buik Comments: European Stocks Slide Before US Data; Raiffeisen, AstraZeneca Decline - Bloomberg

European stocks dropped before reports on U.S. house prices and consumer confidence that may compound concern the recovery in the world’s largest economy is faltering. Asian shares and U.S. index futures fell.

Raiffeisen International Bank Holding AG paced financial shares lower after net income missed analysts’ estimates. EFG Eurobank Ergasias SA sank 3.1 percent as Greece’s second-largest lender said first-half profit fell after loan losses and taxes increased. AstraZeneca Plc declined after failing to win U.S. clearance to sell a new drug.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 1.1 percent to 248.47 at 12:21 p.m. in London, as seven stocks fell for each one that gained. The measure has fallen 2.7 percent this month as the Federal Reserve said the pace of recovery will probably be “more modest” than forecast and U.S. durable-goods orders and home sales missed estimates, bringing the decline so far this year to 2.2 percent.

“Investors have spat in the face of a tsunami of bad economic data” this month, said David Buik, a market analyst at BGC Partners, a London-based inter-dealer broker. “We cannot expect the housing market to repair itself until unemployment stops going up.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.8 percent today, the biggest drop in almost three months. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in September retreated 0.4 percent, indicating the benchmark gauge for U.S. stocks will extend yesterday’s 1.5 percent tumble.

U.S. Economy

The rebound in U.S. home prices probably slowed in June, while consumer confidence languished near a five-month low this month, indicating threats to the economic recovery are mounting, economists said before reports today.

Property values in 20 U.S. cities climbed 3.5 percent in June from the same month last year, down from a 4.6 percent gain in the 12 months to May, according to the median forecast of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before home-price data from S&P/Case-Shiller due at 9 a.m. New York time. Another report at 10 a.m. from the Conference Board, a New York-based research group, may show consumer sentiment stagnated in August.

After the close of European markets, the Federal Reserve is due to release minutes of its last meeting, when it decided to maintain holdings of government securities to stop money from being drained out of the financial system.

‘Too Little’

Japanese stocks led declines in Asian shares today on concern the government’s latest policy efforts will fail to rein in the yen and boost domestic growth. The decision to expand the Bank of Japan’s lending facility was “too little and too late,” former central bank policy board member Nobuyuki Nakahara said yesterday.

In Europe, about 51 percent of Stoxx 600 members that have posted results since July 12 have beaten analysts’ estimates for per-share earnings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 77 percent of S&P 500 companies during the same period, the data show.

Raiffeisen dropped 2.1 percent to 32.35 euros as a measure of European bank stocks tumbled 1.4 percent. The Austrian bank that operates in 17 former communist countries in eastern Europe said second-quarter net income rose to 71 million euros ($89.75 million) from 22 million euros a year earlier. Analysts had forecast a profit of 99 million euros, according to the median of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Eurobank lost 3.1 percent to 4.97 euros as first-half profit fell to 50 million euros from 169 million euros in the same period a year earlier, after loan losses and taxes increased amid Greece’s economic crisis.

AstraZeneca, Iliad

AstraZeneca fell 0.9 percent to 3,213 pence after failing to win U.S. clearance to sell motavizumab. The new drug was intended to succeed Synagis, a $1 billion-a-year respiratory medicine that will lose patent protection in five years.

Bavarian Nordic A/S plummeted 7.6 percent to 206 kroner, the most since May 20. The Danish biopharmaceutical company cut its full-year forecast after technical issues forced it to delay increasing production of its Imvamune vaccine.

Iliad SA, the broadband Internet provider setting up France’s fourth mobile-phone network, climbed 2.5 percent to 71.2 euros after saying first-half profit more than doubled as results improved at its Alice unit.

Irish Life & Permanent Plc gained 2.9 percent to 1.43 euros after the Irish lender said its first-half operating loss narrowed 80 percent to 10 million euros.

Kerry Group Plc, Ireland’s largest food company, advanced 2.9 percent to 25.32 euros after raising its full-year earnings forecast after a “strong” performance so far in 2010.

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