UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

German business sentiment rises, but that is not enough

European stocks lost ground Tuesday as big decliners such as Italian banks and Swiss chip maker AMS AG offset an encouraging reading on German business sentiment.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4% to close at 343.07, as earlier gains didn't stick. The pan-European gauge had traded as high as 345.65 on Tuesday, after Germany's Ifo institute said the business mood in Europe's largest economy rose to a 2.5-year peak.

Big decliners: AMS (AMS.EB) plunged 13% in the wake of its third-quarter report (http://ams.com/eng/Press-Center/Press-Releases/Ad-hoc/Monday-24-October-2016). AMS said it sees "muted" growth for its business in the fourth quarter due to "a negative development at a specific customer."

Italian banks also were among the big losers, as Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA said it would cut 2,600 jobs (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/monte-dei-paschi-to-slash-jobs-sell-units-2016-10-25), shutter 500 branches and shed businesses as part of a make-or-break effort to persuade skeptical investors to buy into a big capital increase.

Outside the Stoxx 600, BMPS (BMPS.MI) fell 15%. Within the index, Unione di Banche Italiane SpA (UBI.MI) shed 3.7%, and Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna (BPE.MI) lost 4.2%.

Other movers: On the upside, Luxottica Group SpA's stock (LUX.MI) closed up 4.4% after the Italian eyewear giant said third-quarter sales grew 3.2% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/luxottica-quarterly-us-wholesale-sales-decline-2016-10-25).

Two Finnish paper makers were the Stoxx 600's biggest winners. UPM-Kymmene Oyj (UPM1V.HE) and Stora Enso Oyj (STERV.HE) gained 11% and 6.9%, respectively, after producing stronger-than-anticipated quarterly earnings (http://in.reuters.com/article/upm-kymmene-oyj-results-idINL8N1CV1JW).

Meanwhile, mining stocks were among the notable advancers, moving up as prices for gold and most other metals rose. Gold futures gained 0.8% to $1,273.80 an ounce.

Also helping the sector, Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) posted higher third-quarter output (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/anglo-american-output-higher-except-for-copper-2016-10-25)across all divisions except copper. Anglo tacked on 4.6%, Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) rose 3%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) gained 4.5%.

Read:Why mining stocks are due for a 20% drop (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-mining-stocks-are-due-for-a-20-drop-2016-10-21)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-mining-stocks-are-due-for-a-20-drop-2016-10-21)Shares of wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica SA (GAM.MC) added 0.3% after the International Energy Agency significantly lifted its forecast for five-year growth in renewable energy (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/turning-point-in-green-energy-prompts-iea-to-drastically-raise-5-year-outlook-2016-10-25).

German mood: The Ifo institute's business climate index increased to 110.5 points (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-business-mood-hits-25-year-high-in-october-2016-10-25) in October from 109.5 in September, reaching its highest level since April 2014.

"The German Ifo data has provided further evidence that the economic engine of the eurozone is picking up steam," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets, in a note.

Indexes: Germany's DAX 30 closed down less than 0.1% at 10,757.31, while France's CAC 40 edged down 0.3% to 4,540.84.

Bucking the negative trend, the U.K's FTSE 100 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-gains-as-miners-and-st-jamess-place-jump-2016-10-25) tacked on 0.5% to 7,017.64, helped by the miners' gains.

The euro was changing hands at $1.0887, up from $1.0875 late Monday in New York.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2016 12:32 ET (16:32 GMT)

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