European stocks defy Pinewood crash to close higher as Apax pulls £575 million offer

European stocks ended the day with gains even though Pinewood Technologies collapsed in brutal fashion.

Traders across Europe spent the session reacting to the key points from the Munich Security Conference, and that steady flow of policy talk kept broad indexes supported. The STOXX Europe 600 finished at 618.56 after rising 0.14%, even as sector moves were all over the place.

Major indexes across Europe printed mixed numbers. The CAC 40 closed at 8,316.50 after a gain of 4.76. The FTSE 100 ended at 10,473.69 after a climb of 27.34. The IBEX 35 hit 17,848.00 with a strong jump of 175.60.

The FTSE MIB slipped 11.42 to 45,419.20. The DAX fell 102.38 to 24,812.50.

Why did Pinewood’s stock crash?

Shares in Pinewood Technologies fell almost one-third after Apax Partners dumped its £575 million offer. The company had said that it walked away because of “prevailing challenging market conditions”.

That remark hit the stock hard, and the shares dropped to just under £3. Even with that mess, broader Europe held firm because traders were more focused on regional themes than one troubled UK software group. NatWest Group gained 4.7% after it kicked off a £750 million share buyback. That rise helped offset the Pinewood drop inside UK trading.

Mining stock Rio Tinto fell 1% after it stopped work at its Simandou iron ore site in Guinea due to a fatal accident at the SimFer project. BHP Group dropped 0.7% ahead of earnings. Glencore slipped a little over 0.3%. Fresnillo was down 1%. Anglo American eased 0.2%.

The FTSE Industrial Metals and Mining Index was seen down almost 0.6%, which pulled on sentiment but did not erase the gains across Europe, per data from TradingView. Indexes from the rest of the region showed the same uneven tone.

The SMI closed at 13,656 after a gain of 55.33. The HEX printed 12,764.17 with a rise of 63.58. The AEX slipped 0.72. The BEL 20 fell 15.13. Portugal’s PSI20 closed at 9,058.6 after a gain of 59.65. Sweden’s OMXS30 was up 2.047. Denmark’s OMXC25 fell 8.88. The STOXX600 reading of 618.52 showed a gain of 0.82.

Meanwhile over in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2% after GDP growth came in at 0.2% annualized for the December quarter instead of the expected 1.6%. Trading stayed thin with China, South Korea, and Taiwan closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

US markets were closed for Presidents’ Day, so Europe carried the main flow of global price action.

Currency moves were mild. USD/CHF moved to 0.769 after a rise of 0.002. EUR/GBP stayed at 0.869. EUR/USD slipped 0.002 to 1.185. EUR/JPY rose 0.76 to 181.9. GBP/USD slipped 0.002 to 1.363. EUR/CHF moved to 0.912 after a rise of 0.001. Bond yields barely did anything, as the UK 10-year sat at 4.401 after a tiny drop of 0.001.

The Bund 10-year was steady at 2.756. Italy’s 10-year traded at 3.385 after a 0.01 move. France’s 10-year stood at 3.344 after a tiny gain of 0.001.

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