Most European indices shook over late morning lows to end marginally lower on the day.  On a stronger Pound and continued lack of clarity on the Brexit issue London underperformed.  The healthcare sector fell nearly 3% there with Communications and IT over well over a percent.

On a regional basis Personal goods ended down a percent with Telcos and Chemis weaker while Autos continued to hold much of their earlier gains.  With so many headlines concerning trade, Brexit, and US politics coupled with possible weather-related issues turnover on the Stoxx 600 day was over 10% lower.

Post the restructuring announcement at AstraZeneca -3.6%, their chief medical officer Sean Bohen is leaving, making this the 3rd high-ranking executive to depart.  GlaxoSmithKline -2.3%, Hikma Pharma -3.5%.   

Siemens -.2% and Alstom -2.3% both fell with a German regulator raising “serious doubts’ as to whether the deal will be allowed.

Retailer JD Sports +6.4% leapt higher with pretax levels for the year seen at the upper end of views. Across the board for the last 11 months sales were up 15%.

From earlier: Dialog Semi +1.9%, Continental +3%, and Premier Oil -12%.

Tonight, import/export prices are expected from South Korea followed by German GDP. French consumer inflation is seen as staying flat on a MoM basis in December with Spanish inflation expected to fall .4%.