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European Stocks Seen Rising After Solid Apple Earnings(dpa-AFX International Compact Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - European stocks look set to inch higher on Tuesday, with tech stocks likely to be in focus after Apple Inc. posted third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations on strong iPhone sales. Total SA shares may also see heightened activity after the French oil and gas giant confirmed that its Chairman and Chief Executive, Christophe de Margerie, died on October 20 in a private plane crash at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow. Asian stocks are turning in a mixed performance amid growth worries after a slew of data out of China painted a mixed picture of the world's second-largest economy. China's gross domestic product expanded 7.3 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2014, its slowest pace in more than five years and down from 7.5 percent in the previous quarter, official data showed. Nevertheless, the data still topped estimates for an increase of 7.2 percent. Industrial production climbed 8.0 percent in September from a year earlier, beating expectations for 7.5 percent growth, while retail sales and fixed asset investment figures missed expectations, stoking concerns over flagging growth. Meanwhile, the European Council has reinforced the restrictive measures already imposed by the European Union on the Syrian government headed by President Bashar al-Assad, accusing the Assad regime of continuing "its brutal war against its own people." Fourteen more individuals have been added to the list of persons targeted in the existing sanctions, bringing the total of persons subject to EU sanctions against the Syrian regime to 211 and the number of entities to 63. The U.S. economic calendar remains light today, with investors awaiting a report on existing home sales later today for further clues on the outlook for Fed policy ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the end of October. Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said in a televised interview yesterday that he sees no reason that should stop the U.S. central bank from ending its bond-buying program next week as scheduled. On the earnings front, Dow components Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Travelers, United Technologies and Verizon are all due to report their quarterly results before the U.S. opening bell. In domestic corporate news, Novartis AG said that an advisory panel to the U,S. Food and Drug Administration has voted unanimously to support the approval of AIN457 (secukinumab) for patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. U.S. drugmaker AbbVie Inc. and Irish rival Shire Plc officially agreed to terminate their proposed merger following the decision by AbbVie's board to withdraw support for the proposed $52 billion deal. Specialty pharmaceutical company Actavis Plc is among the bidders for Belgian consumer health-care company Omega Pharma NV as it continues to look for more acquisition, the Bloomberg reported. The other bidders in the fray are Dublin, Ireland-based drug maker Perrigo Co., French drug maker Sanofi SA and private German drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. Nobel NV reported higher third-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of 205 million euros, aided by higher operating income and lower finance expenses. Swiss biopharmaceutical company Actelion reported net income of 566 million Swiss francs for the first nine months, up from 304 million francs last year. European stocks failed to carry over positive momentum from the previous session on Monday amid fears the euro zone is entering a deflationary spiral. German business software maker SAP cut its 2014 operating profit forecasts, hitting shares in the tech sector. The German DAX dropped 1.5 percent, France's CAC 40 shed a percent and the FTSE 100 of the U.K. eased 0.7 percent. U.S. stocks rose overnight, adding to Friday's strong rally, although IBM's disappointing results limited overall gains. The Dow edged up 0.1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 added 0.9 percent. Overall trading activity remained somewhat subdued amid a lack of major economic data. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |