European stocks slipped for a third day

European stocks slipped for a third day as earnings reports from companies disappointed investors.

Moody’s Investors Service lowered its credit rating on Catalonia and four other Spanish regions. The decision was “driven by the deterioration in their liquidity positions, as evidenced by their very limited cash reserves as of September 2012 and their significant reliance on short-term credit lines to fund operating needs,” the ratings company said.

Alfa Laval slipped 6.5 percent to 115.80 kronor. The company reported third-quarter order intake of 7.29 billion kronor ($1.1 billion), missing the estimates of Deutsche Bank AG and UBS AG. Alpha Laval said it sees fourth-quarter demand in line with or lower than that of the third quarter.

Norsk Hydro ASA declined 3.2 percent to 26.03 kroner. Europe’s third-largest aluminum maker reported a loss in the third quarter as prices for its goods declined. The net loss was 277 million kroner ($49 million), compared with a profit of 997 million kroner a year earlier, the company said.

Michelin added 4.5 percent to 64.67 euros. The company said third-quarter revenue rose 5.7 percent on higher demand for specialty tires. Sales increased to 5.44 billion euros from 5.14 billion euros a year earlier, beating the 5.31 billion-euro average of analyst estimates.

Lafarge SA, the world’s biggest cement maker, gained 0.8 percent to 45.18 euros. Credit Suisse Group AG raised its rating on the stock to outperform, the equivalent of buy, from neutral.

FTSE 100 5,839.88 -43.03 -0.73%

CAC 40 3,466.25 -17.00 -0.49%

DAX 7,267.31 -60.74 -0.83%