LONDON (Reuters) - European shares declined on Wednesday in early deals as worries over rising bond yields trumped a slew of well-received earnings updates from Kering and Credit Suisse , while Shire bounced after accepting an improved offer from Takeda.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX) index was down 0.5 percent, pulling further away from its highest level since the beginning of February, while Germany's DAX (GDAXI) fell 0.6 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 (FTSE) was down 0.4 percent.
Concerns over higher bond yields continued after the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury breached the symbolic 3 percent level on Tuesday, raising questions over the relative attractiveness of equities and sectors which pay steady dividends.
On the day, almost every European sector was in negative territory, with shares in oil and gas stocks among the biggest fallers as the oil price inched away from recent highs.
Even some upbeat earnings reports failed to boost sentiment. Shares in Kering (PA:PRTP) were the biggest STOXX gainers, up 7 percent after the luxury goods company posted an impressive performance in its first quarter results thanks to flying demand for its Gucci clothing and handbags.
Credit Suisse (S:CSGN) stood out among banks, its shares jumping 4.6 percent after beating first-quarter profit expectations as a revamp at the bank bore fruit.
While concerns around semiconductor stocks, in particular those in the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) supply chain, have weighed on chipmakers this week, STMicroelectronics (MI:STM) saw its shares rise 4.8 percent after an upbeat assessment on second-half demand for its smartphones-focused products.
In M&A news, shares in Shire (L:SHP) popped 1.4 percent after saying that it would recommend Takeda's (T:4502) sweetened $64 billion bid offer to shareholders.
But a number of companies saw their shares punished. Osram Licht (DE:OSRn) dropped 11 percent after cutting its guidance, while Atlas Copco (ST:ATCOa) fell 7.2 after reporting results.