Investing.com – European stock markets were mixed on Tuesday, as downbeat earnings from UBS weighed on shares in the financial sector, while U.S. futures indexes pointed to a higher open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased down 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.03%, while Germany's DAX was up 0.23%.
Shares in the financial sector were broadly lower after Swiss banking giant UBS reported lower-than-expected fourth quarter net earnings.
The lender said operating income in the quarter totaled CHF7.1 billion, falling short of market expectations for income of CHF7.45 billion. Net profit in the quarter rose to CHF1.29 billion, missing expectations of CHF1.45 billion.
Following the results, the lender saw shares dip 0.47%. Meanwhile, Italy’s largest bank Unicredit saw shares tumble 2.41%, shares in Societe Generale declined 0.88%, while Deutsche Bank saw shares slide 0.69%.
Elsewhere, shares in French media giant Vivendi dropped 2.91% amid reports the company was considering a takeover bid for the world’s fourth largest record label EMI Music Group.
Also Tuesday, the world’s largest steel-maker ArcelorMittal saw shares jump 3.45% after it said fourth quarter revenue increased by 16% to EUR15.27 billion.
Commenting on the report, chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said, “The gradual underlying demand recovery continues and we expect 2011 to be stronger than 2010.”
In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.06% as banks performed poorly after the British government announced a tax increase of GBP800 million on bank balance sheets in 2011.
Banking giant Barclays saw shares drop 1.52%, shares in Royal Bank of Scotland sank 0.94%, while Standard Chartered saw shares slide 1.24%.
However, shares in the world’s fourth largest copper producer Xstrata jumped 1.11% after it said its net profit for 2010 surged 85% to GBP2.91 billion, compared to GBP410 million a year earlier. The mining group said revenue grew 34% to GBP18.93 billion, boosted by rising metal prices.
The world’s second largest mining group Rio Tinto saw shares add 0.51%, while shares in silver producer Fresnillo rose 0.35%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat ahead of earnings reports from packaged food manufacturer Sara Lee and from Walt Disney Company.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.16%, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.13%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.14%.
Later in the day, Germany was to publish official data on industrial production, while the U.S. was to publish the results of a survey on economic optimism.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased down 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.03%, while Germany's DAX was up 0.23%.
Shares in the financial sector were broadly lower after Swiss banking giant UBS reported lower-than-expected fourth quarter net earnings.
The lender said operating income in the quarter totaled CHF7.1 billion, falling short of market expectations for income of CHF7.45 billion. Net profit in the quarter rose to CHF1.29 billion, missing expectations of CHF1.45 billion.
Following the results, the lender saw shares dip 0.47%. Meanwhile, Italy’s largest bank Unicredit saw shares tumble 2.41%, shares in Societe Generale declined 0.88%, while Deutsche Bank saw shares slide 0.69%.
Elsewhere, shares in French media giant Vivendi dropped 2.91% amid reports the company was considering a takeover bid for the world’s fourth largest record label EMI Music Group.
Also Tuesday, the world’s largest steel-maker ArcelorMittal saw shares jump 3.45% after it said fourth quarter revenue increased by 16% to EUR15.27 billion.
Commenting on the report, chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said, “The gradual underlying demand recovery continues and we expect 2011 to be stronger than 2010.”
In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.06% as banks performed poorly after the British government announced a tax increase of GBP800 million on bank balance sheets in 2011.
Banking giant Barclays saw shares drop 1.52%, shares in Royal Bank of Scotland sank 0.94%, while Standard Chartered saw shares slide 1.24%.
However, shares in the world’s fourth largest copper producer Xstrata jumped 1.11% after it said its net profit for 2010 surged 85% to GBP2.91 billion, compared to GBP410 million a year earlier. The mining group said revenue grew 34% to GBP18.93 billion, boosted by rising metal prices.
The world’s second largest mining group Rio Tinto saw shares add 0.51%, while shares in silver producer Fresnillo rose 0.35%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was upbeat ahead of earnings reports from packaged food manufacturer Sara Lee and from Walt Disney Company.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.16%, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.13%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.14%.
Later in the day, Germany was to publish official data on industrial production, while the U.S. was to publish the results of a survey on economic optimism.