European stocks may edge higher on Tuesday, tracking firm commodity prices and higher Asian equities, as speculation gained ground that China will undertake further stimulus and European leaders may agree on new measures at this week's meeting to prop up growth and boost sagging investor confidence.
Finance Minsters of France and Germany have pledged their support for efforts to keep debt-stricken Greece within the eurozone, although opinions remain divided over ways to resolve the region's debt crisis.
France's new finance minister Pierre Moscovici and his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble made the stand of their governments clear at a joint news conference in Berlin after holding talks in the German capital on Monday.
The two ministers also discussed the idea of introducing the so-called Eurobonds in the eurozone to fight the debt crisis, which will be discussed in detail at Wednesday's informal European Council meeting. Schaeuble reaffirmed Berlin's opposition to the idea, while Moscovici favored the instrument.
On the macroeconomic front, inflation and public sector finance figures from the U.K. are the major statistical reports due in the European session.
In corporate news, BHP Billiton announced that it would restart TEMCO operations with planning for a safe and full restart of the operation to commence immediately.
Bob Mobile AG announced extension of its executive board and confirmed the targets for the business year 2012, while increasing revenues expectation to Euro 95 million.
Spanish banks currently have bad loan losses in the range of EUR 216 billion-EUR 260 billion, and will likely need around EUR 60 billion in order to remain viable, reports said, citing an estimate by the International Institute of Finance.
European stocks rose on Monday although concerns over political turmoil in Greece persisted. A rebound in oil prices provided a boost to shares of energy companies, while miners gained ground helped by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's comments on bolstering growth. The German DAX added a percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.6 percent and Switzerland's SMI edged up 0.3 percent, but the FTSE 100 of the U.K. dropped 0.6 percent.
U.S. stocks posted strong gains overnight benefiting from bargain hunting following recent selling, which dragged the major averages down to four-month closing lows on Friday. The Dow rose 1.1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.5 percent and the S&P 500 gained 1.6 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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