European stocks slid after Spain’s bond yields surged and Germany’s unemployment rate rose more than forecast before a two-day summit of the region’s leaders.
German unemployment climbed in June for the fourth month this year. The number of people out of work in Germany rose a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to 2.88 million, the Federal Labor Agency said. Economists had predicted an increase of 3,000.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and European Commission President Jose Barroso have prepared a 10-year road map for the euro area, which they will discuss at today’s summit.
FTSE 100 5,479.32 -44.60 -0.81%
CAC 40 3,032.42 -30.70 -1.00%
DAX 6,134.88 -94.11 -1.51%
Bankia sank 5.6 percent to 88.5 euro cents in Madrid, while Banco Popular slid 2.3 percent to 1.70 euros as a gauge of European lenders posted the biggest contribution to the Stoxx 600’s retreat.
Commerzbank dropped 5.8 percent to 1.28 euros. Germany’s second-largest lender is issuing about 176.5 million euros ($219 million) in new shares to satisfy bonuses awarded last year. The capital increase also strengthens the bank’s core tier I capital by 213.8 million euros as the Basel 3 regulatory requirements come into force globally.
Debenhams retreated 1.7 percent to 81.85 pence after the U.K.’s second-largest department-store chain reduced its forecast for the gross margin for the year by 0.3 percentage points from last year’s level. That compared with previous guidance for little change to the measure of profitability.