European shares dented by weak earnings but Syngenta surges on deal

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares fell on Wednesday, as weak earnings from some leading companies weighed on markets, although Syngenta surged after ChemChina agreed on a $43 billion bid for the Swiss seeds and pesticides group.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which fell 2 percent in the previous session, fell 0.6 percent in early session trading.

The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index fell 0.8 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.5 percent while Germany's DAX fell 1 percent.

Finnish state-controlled utility Fortum slumped 8.9 percent after posting a larger-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter earnings, while Dutch telecoms group KPN also fell after reporting worse-than-expected core earnings.

 

However, Syngenta rose 6.8 percent after China's state-owned ChemChina said it would make an agreed $43 billion bid for the Swiss company, marking the largest ever overseas acquisition by a Chinese company.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Toby Chopra)