STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Carrefour drops on Brazil, China

Shares in Carrefour (Paris: FR0000120172 - news) fall 3.4 percent after the French retailer reports slowing growth in Brazil, its second-biggest market, and sales turn negative in China amid lower consumption.

Carrefour says quarterly like-for-like sales in China fall 3.1 percent after rising 1.1 percent in the third quarter. Brazil's like-for-like growth slows to 5.8 percent from 8.8 percent in the previous quarter.

"Asia like-for-like was below consensus, led by weak consumption growth in China," Bernstein analysts write in a note.

"Overall, these represent mixed results for Carrefour. There is encouragement that France continues to grow, but at a slower rate than Q3. The international portfolio is still showing inconsistent results, with a wide spread from positive results to negative results."

The shares are the weakest performers on the French blue-chip CAC 40 index , which is down 0.1 percent, and among the top three decliners in the European sector.

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Reuters messaging rm://james.regan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net