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European Markets Lower By Early Afternoon Trading(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) VIENNA (Alliance News) - European stocks have turned uniformly lower by mid-session on Thursday in a volatile session. Corporate news flow has been mixed, while private sector activity data released by Markit Economics came in better than expected. The major US stock futures are holding up, although they have come off their early highs. Sentiment in the domestic markets may also be impacted by data on jobless claims and the manufacturing sector due from the US later in the day. The Euro STOXX 50 Index is currently down 0.44%, the CAC 40 Index is slipping 0.31%, the German DAX Index is down 0.16% and the UK's FTSE 100 Index is retreating 0.77%. After opening lower, European stocks recovered in early trading. However, the major averages in the region have given back their gains and are currently trading lower, as traders digested domestic earnings and private sector activity data. In corporate news, Credit Suisse reported third quarter profits that were ahead of expectations. The shares are down over 1% in the Swiss exchange. Nokia (NOK) also reported better than expected profit growth for its third quarter and also raised its full year core operating margin forecast. Nokia is gaining over 3%. German automaker Daimler reported a strong increase in its third quarter profits on broad based growth across most of its markets. Daimler is down 0.40%. French telecom company Orange reported a decline in its third quarter profit and earnings, which was not as worse as expected. The company also confirmed its outlook for the full year. Orange is advancing close to 3% However, Unilever (UL) reported a smaller than expected increase in third quarter underlying sales growth, with China seeing marked weakness. Reed Elsevier reported a modest increase in its underlying revenues for the nine-month period and also maintained its forecast for the year. Anglo American reported higher iron ore output for the third quarter. French brewer Pernod Ricard reported better than expected sales growth despite weakness in China. Tesco's profits plunged amid accounting woes. On the economic front, Markit reported based on its preliminary survey that private sector activity in the region saw a mild upturn in October. The composite purchasing managers' index rose to 52.2 in October from 52 in September. Economists expected a decline in the index to 51.5. The manufacturing PMI rose 0.4 points to 50.7, suggested an unexpected expansion, while the service sector PMI was unchanged at 52.4. The UK Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales in the UK fell 0.3% month-over-month in September, marking the first drop in four months. Economists expected a 0.1% drop for the month. Annually, retail sales rose a less than expected 2.7%. Most major Asian markets ended lower, with the Australian, Chinese, Hong Kong, Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese markets retreating, while the Singaporean, Malaysian, New Zealand and Indonesian markets ended higher. The Indian market was closed for a public holiday. The negative lead from Wall Street weighed on the markets even as the Chinese manufacturing activity data offered some encouragement. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |