European stocks fell on Thursday, trimming some of the sharp gains made in the previous session, as lower-than-expected results from Swatch Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG rattled investors.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.2 per cent in London. The index gained 0.9 per cent on Wednesday, as industrial shares advanced on earnings reports, while positive data from China and the U.S. helped lift stocks most sensitive to economic growth.
Shares in Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc. rose 4 per cent. The group is in talks to buy baby-formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. for about $16.7 billion. Shares in Deutsche Bank AG were down 3.4 per cent after it reported fourth-quarter trading revenue that missed analysts’ estimates as concern about the company’s finances weighed on clients.
