By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets moved lower
across the board on Wednesday, tracking a negative trading mood in
Asia where lingering concerns about a slowdown in China hit
sentiment.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index slid 0.7% to 329.19, setting it on
track for the lowest close in a month.
Weighing on the pan-European benchmark, shares of G4S PLC lost
2.7% after the security company said it swung to a loss in 2013,
partly due to a 386-million-pound ($642 million) restructuring
charge.
Shares of Valeo SA dropped 2.3% after the French government sold
a 2.5% stake in the auto-parts manufacturer for 200 million euros
($277 million).
On a more upbeat note, shares of Prudential PLC rallied 5.7%
after the U.K. insurer raised dividends and said it extended its
strategic partnership with bank Standard Chartered PLC . Standard
Chartered shares traded 0.8% lower.
Adecco SA climbed 4.8% after the staffing firm reported
fourth-quarter earnings ahead of expectations.
More broadly, European stock markets mirrored the weak trading
day in Asia, where Japan's Nikkei slumped 2.6% and Hong Kong's Hang
Seng Index dropped 1.7%. The losses came as worries over a slowdown
in China continued to weigh on the trading mood, after a surprise
decline in Chinese exports rattled markets at the beginning of the
week.
In January, weaker-than-expected manufacturing data from the
world's second-largest economy triggered a wider market rout, with
emerging markets and their currencies hit especially hard. A major
concern is that a hard landing in China could slow growth globally,
after years of stellar expansion in the country helped boost the
international economy. Read: China may giveth to banks, after China
taketh away
U.S. stock futures also pointed to a lower open on Wall
Street.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index dropped 0.9% to 6,625.66,
while France's CAC 40 index gave up 1.3% to 4,295.16. Germany's DAX
30 index slid 1.2% to 9,196.45. Read: This chart shows why the DAX
could continue to underperform
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
Europe's hot new export is deflation
Jeff Gundlach: China bears watching; the taper may get tapered
(recap)
West warily readies sanctions on Russia
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