On Wednesday European stocks were little changed as investors awaited a report on U.S. durable-goods orders to assess the strength of the global economic recovery. Asian shares and U.S. index futures fell.
Hexagon AB led a retreat in industrial shares, falling 4.8 percent. Cable & Wireless Communications Plc plunged 7.4 percent after saying it’s cautious on the outlook for its Caribbean operations. EON AG and RWE AG, Germany’s biggest utilities, rose more than 2 percent after the Financial Times Deutschland reported the government may scrap a tax on nuclear reactors.
European shares rose during morning trading, with banking stocks taking the lead as investors bought on dips in the market, traders said. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up, having dipped below its 200-day moving average - a move seen as a negative signal for equities. Fund managers and traders said investors were buying into bank shares, which had recently sold-off, because the euro zone peripheral debt situation was now being priced into stocks.
The STOXX Europe 600 Banks index rose, with individual gainers including Greece's third-largest lender Alpha Bank up 2.1 percent and Bank of Ireland rising 1.5 percent. Banks have been one of the worst performers in 2011, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index down 3.6 percent.
On peripheral exchanges, Spain's IBEX 35 was up 0.2 percent, Portugal's PSI 20 gained 0.2 percent and Italy's benchmark rose 0.3 percent.
On the downside, Vodafone lost after Nomura cut its recommendation on the mobile operator to "neutral" from "buy."
Japanese stocks fell, led by electronics makers after Applied Materials Inc., the world’s largest producer of chip-making equipment, forecast profit that missed analysts’ estimates. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.6 percent while the broader Topix index slipped 0.2 percent.
This article was compiled by Valletta Fund Management Limited, a member of the BOV Group. Valletta Fund Management,
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