European Stocks Fall on Corporate Earnings --Update
November 01 2016 - 6:28AM
Dow Jones News
By Riva Gold
European bourses reversed early gains on Tuesday, even as U.S.
stock futures and Asian markets rebounded.
The Stoxx Europe 600 inched down 0.3% midmorning after initially
opening higher as investors eyed the latest news on corporate
profits.
Shares of Standard Chartered fell over 5% after the Asia-focused
bank posted a $458 million pretax profit that fell short of analyst
expectations, while shares of BP also fell over 3%, dragging down
wider indexes, after the British energy giant posted third-quarter
profits.
Earlier, global markets had received a lift from a
better-than-expected reading on the Chinese economy. Data showed
China's industrial sector picked up last month with an official
gauge of factory activity rising to its highest level in two
years.
Futures pointed to a 0.2% opening gain for the S&P 500,
following an upbeat session in Asia.
"China is doing a bit better than many people expected," said
Ugo Montrucchio, a multiasset fund manager at Schroders.
While it is hard to draw sharp conclusions from the country's
macroeconomic data, it is clear the country's ongoing fiscal
stimulus is bringing about some signs of stabilization, he
added.
Commodity prices also moved higher, as metal prices rose in the
wake of the Chinese economic data and Brent crude oil climbed 0.8%
from its lowest level since September to $48.99 a barrel.
In currencies, the British pound inched up 0.1% against the
dollar at $1.2252, holding on to Monday's gains after Bank of
England Gov. Mark Carney said in a letter that he plans to serve an
extra year in his post.
Earlier, shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai led Asian markets
higher after the upbeat data on the Chinese economy. The Hang Seng
rose 0.9%.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average inched up 0.1%, while the dollar
inched up 0.1% against the yen to Yen105.0220 after the Bank of
Japan left its stimulus program unchanged as expected but reduced
its inflation forecasts.
Shares in Australia edged lower, however, while the Australian
dollar rose sharply after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its
cash rate target unchanged at 1.5%.
In bond markets, the yield on 10-year German debt rose to
0.203%, while U.S. Treasury yields climbed to 1.867% from 1.834% on
Monday. Yields move inversely to prices.
Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 01, 2016 06:13 ET (10:13 GMT)
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