European stocks steady on ECB remarks, Italy downgrade; Dax down 0.06%
Published Jul 10, 2013 03:42AM ET
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.04%, France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.03%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased 0.06%.
On Tuesday, ECB executive board member Jorg Asmussen said the central bank may keep interest rates at record lows for more than 12 months.
The comments came after ECB President Mario Draghi said last week that rates would remain at low levels for an “extended” period, amid ongoing weakness in the euro zone economy.
Separately, Standard & Poor's lowered Italy's sovereign credit rating to BBB from BBB+, citing the country's weak economic prospects. The new rating is two notches above "junk" status. S&P also gave Italy a "negative" outlook.
Financial stocks were mostly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale retreated 0.51% and 0.31%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank jumped 1.82%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander slid 0.22% and 0.58% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit declined 0.76% and 0.87%.
Elsewhere, Roche shares were down 0.21%, following reports the Swiss drugmaker halted testing of aleglitazar, an experimental treatment for diabetes, after a panel raised safety and efficacy concerns in a final-phase clinical trial.
In London, FTSE 100 added 0.10%, led by a surge in Burberry shares.
Burberry rallied 4.27% after the luxury retailer said its spring-summer collection helped increase retail sales in its fiscal first quarter more than estimated.
Adding to gains, HSBC Holdings added 0.35%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays jumped 1.30% and 1.45% respectively.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly lower, as shares in Rio Tinto slid 0.32% and Anglo American dropped 0.57%, while Polymetal and Fresnillo plummeted 2.47% and 4.05%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.01% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% rise.
The Fed was to release the minutes of its June policy meeting later in the day, while a speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was also in focus.
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Written By: Investing.com
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