2017.01.2006:11:00UTC+00European Stocks Retreat Ahead of Trump Inauguration

European equity benchmarks retreated in early trading and were set for their largest weekly loss since prior to the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. Presidential election, while investors turned away from adding further risk ahead of his inauguration. The STOXX 600 was 0.2 percent lower as the index has lacked momentum since its outperformance of the U.S. S&P 500 Index in December.

A gauge for Europe's basic resources sector, which is the top gainer since Trump's election, was off one percent, the largest sectoral loser in Europe as copper prices fell. U.K.'s FTSE was 0.1 percent lower. Among the top decliners was France's Edenred, that dropped 2.8 percent after major shareholder Colony Capital sold its 11.2 percent stake in the firm. Tryg was the largest loser, off 4.1 percent after its fourth-quarter profit failed expectations.