CRDA Croda International Plc

By Caitlin Ostroff 

-- Treasury yields edge down

-- Sterling holds steady against the dollar

-- Caterpillar and Boeing to report earnings

European stocks faltered and German government bond yields touched a record low after new data signaled weakness in the regional economy.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.3% in morning trade. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei gained 0.4%.

Luxury sports-car manufacturer Aston Martin's shares plunged 23% after the company slashed profitability targets and downgraded production goals for the year. Chief Executive Andy Palmer said wholesale performance was impacted by "macroeconomic uncertainty and enduring weakness in U.K. and European markets."

Deutsche Bank fell 3.8% on Wednesday after it reported a loss of $3.51 billion due to restructuring costs.

Shares of U.K. chemicals company Croda International dropped 3.4% after it reported its earnings fell in the first half and said its personal care business had been impacted by the U.S.-China trade dispute.

The German 10-year bund yield slid to a new all-time low of minus 0.429%, according to Tradeweb, as investors grew nervous about the economic outlook for the eurozone. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Eurozone purchasing managers index data released Wednesday offered further signs of an economic slowdown in the region. The poor performance in the eurozone's two largest economies, France and Germany, added to expectations for a fresh stimulus drive from the European Central Bank on Thursday, said Claus Vistesen, chief European economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield also slipped on Wednesday, to 2.056%, from 2.074% on Tuesday.

On the earnings front, investors were waiting for many major U.S. corporate reports from Facebook Inc., AT&T Inc. and Tesla Inc. later Wednesday. Boeing Co., Ford Motor Co. and Thermo Fischer Scientific Inc., a biotech firm, are also set to release their results.

In the U.S., shares in big tech companies fell in after-hours trade Tuesday after the Justice Department announced it was opening a broad antitrust review into whether dominant firms have unlawfully stifled competition. Facebook Inc. fell 1.5%, Google-parent Alphabet Inc. fell 0.9%, Amazon.com Inc. fell 1% and Apple Inc. fell 0.4%.

The British pound ticked up Wednesday, a day after Boris Johnson emerged as the victor to become the next U.K. prime minister. Though the market had expected Mr. Johnson's win, investors may react to his cabinet appointments, said John Wraith, head of U.K. rates strategy for UBS.

Anna Isaac and Lauren Almeida contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2019 06:19 ET (10:19 GMT)

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