By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

VW lower as CEO charged with market manipulation in Germany

Led by defensive plays, Europe stocks advanced Tuesday as a key economic report showed German business confidence still bleak.

Rising for the fourth day in five, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.09% to 390.15, as pharmaceuticals, household products firms and food producers led the way, all sectors that are relatively less exposed to the swings of the economy.

The German DAX dropped 0.08% to 12332.33as the Ifo business climate index in Germany rose marginally in September, but the expectations component fell to a decade low.

"A much welcome rebound, but the details weren't uplifting," said Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. "We always have to be careful fitting stories to these data, but it looks to us as if the ECB's recently announced measured have succeeded in providing a modest lift to the current assessment, while expectations are still hampered by unchanged, and elevated, global uncertainty."

The French CAC 40 added 0.06% to 5634.22 and the U.K. FTSE 100 declined 0.46% to 7292.15 after the U.K. Supreme Court ruled that suspending Parliament was unlawful. See London Markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/british-pound-jumps-as-uk-supreme-court-rules-suspension-of-parliament-was-unlawful-2019-09-24)

Stocks in the spotlight included EQT Partners (EQT.SK) , as the Swedish private equity firm surged to 84.50 crowns after pricing its initial public offering at 67 crowns.

Volkswagen (VOW3.XE) shares fell 1.9% as German prosecutors charged executives including CEO Herbert Diess with market manipulation in connection with the diesel emissions scandal that erupted in 2015. Read more on VW (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/germany-volkswagen-bosses-charged-with-market-manipulation-2019-09-24).

VW's majority owner Porsche Automobil Holding (PAH3.XE) fell 2.8%.

K+S (SDF.XE) shares fell 4% as the German chemicals producer said it was cutting its fertilizer production due to weak demand, which will hurt operating profit by up to 80 million euros.

TUI rose 8.1%, extending Monday's rally, as the travel company reiterated its fiscal year underlying profit guidance that may fall as much as 26%. The company said it's assessing the short-term impact of Thomas Cook's insolvency.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2019 10:51 ET (14:51 GMT)

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