This post was originally published on this site
Getty Images The financial district of Canary Wharf
European stocks on Tuesday edged back from record levels, over concerns about the prospect of a so-called hard Brexit.
After reaching an all-time record on Monday, the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.75% fell 0.52% to 415.58.
U.K. newspapers reported freshly elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson will introduce a legal provision to bar an extension of trade negotiations beyond a year. Analysts say it will be difficult to complete a U.K.-European Union trade deal in a year.
The German DAX DAX, -0.81% fell 0.38% to 13356.99 and the French CAC 40 PX1, -0.47% dropped 0.32% to 5972.66.
The U.K. FTSE 100 UKX, -0.12% inched up 0.07% to 7524.22, helped by a retreat in the British pound GBPUSD, -1.0199%. Since the major multinationals generate most of their revenue outside the U.K., they tend to benefit when sterling weakens.
The Royal Bank of Scotland RBS, -4.10% RBS, +2.20% and Virgin Money U.K. VMUK, -4.19% both dropped over 4% as investment bank Citi downgraded the lenders to neutral from buy, arguing there is no longer sufficient upside after the big rally on the Conservatives winning the re-election.
Lloyds Banking Group LLOY, -4.85% LYG, +4.39% was the worst performing of the U.K. banks, dropping 5%. Citi said the stress-test results released by the Bank of England on Monday night suggest it may need to increase its capital buffer.
Unilever ULVR, -4.98% UL, +1.59%, the Anglo-Dutch household products giant, dropped 5% as the maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Dove soap said a measure of sales growth will miss forecasts.
