European stocks fall at open

European stocks were generally weaker Tuesday, with German shares getting hammered by news that China has devalued its currency.

The S&P 500 was down 14.34 points, or 0.68 percent, at 2,089.84 and the Nasdaq composite was down 27.23 points, or 0.53 percent, at 5,074.57.

Export stocks with exposure to China, mainly auto stocks and luxury goods, retreated in response to the move.

Greece’s ASE Index rose for a third day, advancing 2.1 per cent for the best performance among western-European markets.

“While markets normally welcome any form of China stimulus with open arms, today’s move in the wake of truly bad weekend trade data is being interpreted as admission of growth slowing by even more than those rather questionable official statistics are to have us believe”.

The bank set the value of yuan at 6.2298 a dollar, 1.9 percent lower than Monday’s official fixing rate.

U.S. stocks traded more than 1 percent higher on Monday, bouncing from sharp declines last week, as encouraging developments in Greece and a Warren Buffett acquisition boosted sentiment. Delta Lloyd NV tumbled 15 percent after reporting a drop in solvency ratio, a measure of the insurer’s ability to absorb losses.

“However, as it appears the world’s second largest economy is serious about getting its house in order, the short term sell off may well throw up some opportunities for the seasoned investor”.

The Nikkei average fell by 0.4 percent to close at 20,720.75 after first nearing the 18-1/2-year high it marked earlier this year.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei share average edged down after China devalued the yuan with investors taking profits as they assessed the ramifications of Beijing’s move to support the economy and exports.

Greece has reached a deal on a multi-billion bailout with its global creditors after marathon talks, a government source said Tuesday. Crucially, it will save Athens from default on a debt repayment of 3.2 billion euro due to the European Central Bank on August 20.

The widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute sank 4.7 points to 25.0 points this month, ZEW said in a statement.