It’s a quiet day for European equities as investors digest the news that the Chinese economy was downgraded by Moody’s which is grinding on the miners and trading floors are awaiting the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting.
Apart from the news from China, there’s no real data releases to drive the markets in Europe although miners Rio Tinto and Anglo American took a hit.
British retailer Marks and Spencer’s is one of the biggest gainers on the FTSE, reporting a 64% drop in profits which the company put down to £400m of restructuring costs. Pre-tax profit for the period collapsed to £176.4m from £488.8m in the year-ago period. M&S shares hit a one-year high of 392p but are still sharply below the May 2015 high of 586p.
{ANI} A high profile court case accusing the Royal Bank of Scotland of misleading customers into supporting its rights issue back in 2008 has been adjourned until June 7th. The former CEO Fred Goodwin was expected to face questions over the bank’s collapse. But RBS then decided to settle, which has divided investors. Both sides have now asked for a formal adjournment until June 7th, to allow talks to continue.
