BLBG: European Stocks Fall From 13-Month High as Banks Reverse Rally
European stocks edged lower, trimming a weekly gain, as UBS Group AG paced banks’ first decline in four days.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.3 percent at 8:18 a.m. in London, after capping its biggest three-day advance since early December. Lenders in the gauge fell from their highest level in almost 13 months, with UBS down 2.8 percent amid disappointing wealth management flows.
Retailers rose the most among Stoxx 600 industry groups. Booker Group Plc jumped 14 percent after Tesco Plc agreed to buy the British food wholesaler for about 3.7 billion pounds ($4.6 billion). Tesco advanced 9 percent.
The “extremely high” risk premium on European stocks is set to fall this year as an acceleration in the region’s economy and a rebound in corporate profits spark investment inflows, Bruno Colmant, head of macro research at Degroof Petercam, said in an interview.
Analysts estimate profits at Stoxx 600 companies will grow by almost 14 percent in 2017 and about 10 percent in 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The benchmark is heading for a weekly advance of 1.1 percent, on track to cap a third monthly gain.