Europe equities ticked down, dragged by Deutsche Bank’s surprise quarterly loss and soft China growth data (*more below in Asia). The Stoxx 600 fell 0.1%, while Germany’s DAX dipped 0.3%.
Deutsche Bank posted a EUR1.15 billion loss, citing weakness in its fixed-income business, heavy litigation costs and large restructuring-related spending. The bank warned about a challenging 2014, but promised it would meet its target in 2015. A separate report from the Wall Street Journal said Germany’s top banking regulator plans to send investigators to Deutche Bank’s offices as part of a global probe into currency market manipulation.
Japan stocks dipped 0.6%, weighed by a sharp drop in Nintendo after it downgraded its outlook. The game maker said it now expects a loss of around JPY25 billion when it reports its full year results in March, retreating from a JPY55 billion profit forecast before. The loss is attributed to poor sales of its Wii U console.
In macro news, industrial output fell 0.1% on-month in November, down from 0.1% of growth a month ago. The figure also marked the first contraction in three months.
Focus now will be on the Bank of Japan’s two-day meeting starting today. Consensus expects the central bank to keep its aggressive monetary policy steady.