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European Stocks Seen Little Changed After Rally
[April 23, 2014]

European Stocks Seen Little Changed After Rally


(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) VIENNA (Alliance News) - European stocks are seen opening flat to slightly higher on Wednesday as investors pause for breath following the previous session's rally. The upside momentum would be capped by Chinese data signaling sustained weakness in manufacturing.



Asian stocks are turning in a mixed performance, paring early gains, after a private survey showed activity in the Chinese manufacturing sector contracted for a fourth straight month in April. The preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose slightly to 48.3 compared with a final reading of 48.0 in March.

Meanwhile, Australian inflation figures for the first quarter came in weaker expected, easing pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates later this year.


The safe-haven Japanese yen rebounded against the dollar as Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said inflation may exceed the official estimate in the fiscal year ended March.

Looking ahead, investors await US reports on manufacturing and new home sales as well as preliminary eurozone PMI data for further clues about the global economy. Minutes from April's Bank of England policy meeting are also slated for release during the European session.

On the US earnings front, Boeing, Delta, Procter & Gamble and Dow Chemical are among the companies that will unveil their quarterly results before the opening bell.

Closer home, Swedish telecommunications firm TeliaSonera AB said its first-quarter net income attributable to owners of the parent company decreased 4.0% to 3.945 billion Swedish kronor from 4.108 billion kronor in the previous year.

German lender Deutsche Bank is reducing its equities team in Latin America and considering closing its equities business in Chile as part of its efforts to cut costs, the Bloomberg reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.

Oil giant BP PLC. said it has agreed to sell interests in four BP-operated oilfields on the North Slope of Alaska to Hilcorp, a privately-held independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company.

Ericsson reported that its first-quarter net income to shareholders of the parent company increased to SEK 2.12 billon from SEK 1.20 billion.

French software company Dassault Systemes SA has extended its public tender offer for all shares of US-based Accelrys Inc. to April 28.

European stocks rallied on Tuesday as trading resumed after a four-day Easter holiday break. Mergers and acquisitions activity in the pharmaceuticals sector and upbeat eurozone consumer confidence data bolstered investor sentiment, helping offset growing tensions in eastern Ukraine. The German DAX climbed 2%, France's CAC 40 added 1.2% and the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.9%.

US stocks also rose overnight, with the S&P 500 extending gains for a sixth straight session, as investors digested a host of solid earnings reports and huge deals announced by major pharmaceutical companies. In economic news, sales of previously owned homes fell in March to their slowest annual pace in 20 months, the National Association of Realtors said. The Dow and the S&P 500 rose about 0.4% each, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied a percent.

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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