On Monday European stocks declined for a third day as George Soros warned that failure by leaders to produce drastic measures at a summit this week could spell the demise of the euro currency. U.S. index futures and Asian shares fell.
Nokia Oyj retreated amid speculation Samsung Electronics Co.’s earnings may miss some analyst estimates. Shire Plc slumped 11 percent after regulators approved a generic version of its second-biggest selling drug. SABMiller Plc lost 2 percent after Anheuser-Busch InBev NV was said to be close to buying the remainder of Mexico’s Grupo Modelo SAB.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.8 percent to 244.63 at 9:57 a.m. in London, extending its decline in the last three days to 2 percent. The gauge has still gained 0.1 percent so far this year.
The Stoxx 600 fell in the final two days of last week after German business confidence slid to a two-year low, adding to concern that the euro area’s sovereign-debt crisis is derailing growth.
Germany will this week confront an increasingly united bloc of euro-area nations demanding more ambitious policies to save the currency union this week. Leaders will attend pre-summit meetings as they work to narrow differences before the June 28-29 gathering in Brussels.
Billionaire investor Soros called on Europe to start a fund to buy Italian and Spanish bonds, saying policy makers should create a European Fiscal Authority to purchase the debt in return for the countries implementing achievable budget cuts. France and Italy are also urging Germany to take decisive action to end the 2 1/2-year-old debt crisis after Spain’s 10- year bond yields jumped to more than 7 percent last week, a level that economists consider unsustainable.
Japanese stocks dropped for a second day as opposition to a tax increase mounted among lawmakers before a key vote tomorrow and the yen strengthening. Drops were limited as European leaders agreed to cooperate on a regional growth plan ahead of a summit this week. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.7 percent after earlier rising as much as 0.5 percent. The broader Topix Index slid 0.8 percent.