By Simon Kennedy
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks reversed early losses to
trade slightly higher Wednesday, with Peugeot and BASF both rising
after lifting their outlooks and with a handful of other
high-profile shares also gaining.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.3% to 266.04.
The benchmark turned higher after the minutes of the Bank of
England's October rate-setting meeting showed that some policy
makers felt the likelihood that further monetary easing will be
needed has increased in the last few months.
U.S. stock market futures also indicated a stronger start,
leaving behind a decidedly weak Tuesday session on Wall Street.
This helped lift European markets further, while Asian markets
closed mostly lower overnight as they reacted to China's surprise
move to raise lending and deposit rates on Tuesday.
Among the main European indexes, the French CAC 40 index climbed
0.6% to 3,828.75, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 5,719.54
and the German DAX 30 index added 0.3%% to 6,509.38.
In Paris, shares of PSA Peugeot Citroen rose 1.8%. The French
car maker said revenue grew 10% in the third quarter as management
lifted its earnings forecast for the year.
And shares of BASF moved 1.3% higher in Frankfurt, gaining after
the German chemicals giant revised higher its own outlook for the
year and reported a 23% jump in sales for the third quarter.
A notable decliner, Swedish defense and aerospace group Saab saw
its shares drop 5.6%.
The company cut its outlook, saying restructuring costs in the
fourth quarter mean operating profit for the year will now be lower
than for 2009. Saab also said it continues to expect sales for the
year will be broadly flat.
But TomTom , the Dutch maker of equipment used in
satellite-navigation systems, reversed early losses to trade up
2.8% in Amsterdam.
The company said profit in the latest quarter dropped by more
than a third as margin narrowed, hurt by the weak dollar. However
TomTom also said it still expects to achieve its financial targets
for the year.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) jumped nearly 9% in Copenhagen. Analysts said
the stock gained on a U.S. regulatory decision to demand further
studies of a drug seen as a potential rival to Victoza, Novo
Nordisk's diabetes drug.
Mining stocks were also relatively strong, with BHP Billiton
(BHP) climbing 1.7% after announcing a rise in iron-ore production
and following a report that its $39 billion bid for Potash Corp. of
Saskatchewan (POT) is likely to be rejected by the Saskatchewan
government.
Also in London, Rio Tinto (RIO) rose 1.8% after saying it would
invest $3.1 billion to expand iron-ore production in Australia.
Among smaller companies, shares of Hansen Transmissions
International , which makes gearboxes for wind turbines, slumped
more than 18%. The company slashed its revenue forecast for the
year as customers delayed orders.