European stocks steady, ECB comments still support; Dax up 0.03%
Published Jan 11, 2013 04:03AM ET
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.19%, France’s CAC 40 eased up 0.02%, while Germany’s DAX 30 inched 0.03% higher.
Speaking at the bank’s post-policy meeting press conference Draghi said a gradual economic recovery would begin this year, as structural reforms and actions by the ECB to tackle the region’s debt crisis continued to take effect.
The comments came after the ECB left interest rates on hold at 0.75% in a widely anticipated decision earlier, but some market participants had expected Draghi to hint at the possibility of rate cuts later in 2013.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale rose 0.20% and 1.38%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank advanced 0.78% and 1.53% respectively.
Peripheral lenders added to gains, with Italian banks Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo added 0.19% and 0.68%, while Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander rose 0.26% and 0.77%.
Elsewhere, SAP AG rallied 1.65% after unveiling a much faster version of its Business Suite software running on top of its Hana database, with hopes of replacing database software from rival companies that customers use to process and analyze information.
In London, FTSE 100 inched up 0.05%, boosted by sharp gains in the financial sector.
Shares in Lloyds Banking jumped 0.94% and the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 1.56%, while Barclays surged 1.79%. HSBC Holdings underperformed on the other hand, slipping 0.28%.
Meanwhile, mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton trended lower, with shares plummeting 1.86% and 2.56%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys declined 0.19% and 1.33% respectively.
Oil and gas major Anglo American was also on the downside, tumbling 1.19%, while rival Tullow Oil plunged 4.08%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.04% loss.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the government’s report on the trade balance.
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Written By: Investing.com
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