European shares fall due to mixed business results

European shares fell on Wednesday after a batch of mixed business results highlighted the impact of tight monetary policy and rising inflation on corporate earnings.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2 percent by 0706 GMT, the sixth consecutive session of losses, with the real estate and banking sectors leading the decline.

Poor business results for Barrat Developments, Britain’s largest home builder, led to a sell-off in the sector.

Philips shares plunged 8.1 percent after the Dutch company announced a 60 percent drop in its core quarterly profit.

Credit Suisse shares fell 3.6 percent after Bloomberg reported that the US Department of Justice was investigating the Swiss bank’s continued help of US clients to hide their assets from authorities, eight years after the bank paid a $2.6 billion tax evasion settlement.

Among the gainers was LVMH, which rose 0.9 percent after the French luxury goods giant beat market expectations for third-quarter sales.