European stocks market july 31 2012

European stocks market july 31 2012 : European stocks remained mixed on Tuesday, as investors eyed the European Central Bank’s policy meeting this week, amid speculation the central bank may announce fresh easing measures, while the Federal Reserve was about to begin its own two-day meeting.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.26%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.11%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.49%.

Markets were eyeing the European Central Bank's policy meeting on Thursday, after ECB President Mario Draghi pledged last week to do whatever was necessary to prevent the euro zone from collapsing.

Draghi's remarks fueled expectations that the ECB may soon reactivate its bond-buying program to help cut Spanish and Italian borrowing costs. Investors remained cautious however, amid concerns that the bank could disappoint market expectations.

Market participants were also looking ahead to the outcome of the Fed’s policy setting meeting on Wednesday, amid speculation over whether the bank will hint at further easing measures.

Financial stocks were mixed, trimming some of the week’s losses, as shares in Italian lender Unicredit climbed 1.49% and France’s BNP Paribas added 0.10%, while Societe Generale and German Deutsche Bank retreated 0.37% and 0.64% respectively.

Earlier in the day, Deutsche Bank said its earnings dropped 46% in the second quarter due to the effects of the euro zone debt crisis on investment banking activity.

Swiss bank UBS remained sharply lower, with shares down 5.22%, after saying that net profit shrank to CHF425 million from CHF1 billion on sharply lower trading revenue and a drop in commissions and fees from clients.

Elsewhere, France-based aerospace supplier Safran dropped 0.50%, although it reported a 30% jump in net profit in the first half of 2012, boosted by rising deliveries of commercial-jet engines and acquisitions.

In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.27%, after data showed that consumer confidence in the U.K. was unchanged in July, despite expectations for a slight improvement.

Oil and gas major BP led losses, with shares tumbling 4.51% after the group reported a loss in the second quarter, due to lower output, falling oil prices and a near USD5.0-billion write down on the value of assets. Rival company Anglo American was up 0.13%.

Financial stocks pushed lower, as shares in Barclays plunged 2.07% and the Royal Bank of Scotland declined 1.89%, while HSBC Holdings and Lloyds Banking dropped 1.36% and 1.22% respectively.

On the upside, Vedanta Resources surged 4.18%, while rival mining groups BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose 0.03% and 1.02%.

Vodafone also gained 1.07%, following reports the phone company marked its GBP1.04 billion takeover of Cable & Wireless Worldwide by ousting the firm’s chief executive, Gavin Darby, for the second time.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.25% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.23% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.35% gain.

Also Tuesday, preliminary data showed that consumer price inflation in the euro zone rose 2.4% in July, in line with expectations, while a separate report showed that the bloc’s unemployment rate held steady at 11.2% in June, as expected.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on house price inflation, a report on consumer confidence and data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area.

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