German stocks are rising modestly on Tuesday, with expectations of stimulus measures by central banks underpinning sentiment. There are expectations that the ECB will unveil new measures this week to drive down the cost of financing. Investors also await policy announcement by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the all-important U.S. jobs report this week for near-term directional cues.
The benchmark German DAX is currently up 34 points or half a percent at 6,807, while France's CAC 40 is gaining 0.24 percent and Switzerland's SMI is up marginally. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is losing 0.2 percent after Moody's Investors Service lowered its forecast for U.K. economic growth, citing the ongoing euro-zone debt crisis.
Bayer AG is climbing 3.1 percent as the chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant reported about 34 percent decline in second-quarter profit, impacted mainly by special items, including certain litigation provisions.
Commerzbank AG is up 0.6 percent. The lender said it reached an agreement with Ukrainian Smart Group on the sale of its stake of about 96 percent in Ukraine's Bank Forum. Deutsche Bank AG is down 0.8 percent after the lender reported lower second-quarter profit, hit by higher operating expenses and lower revenues.
Infineon Technologies is up nearly 8 percent after the company announced spending cuts to cope with slowing chip demand. HeidelbergCement is down 0.8 percent despite reporting a higher profit for its second-quarter, benefited by growth in sales volumes in North America and Asia as well as successful price increases.
In economic news, unemployment in Germany increased in July as expected, data from the Federal Labor Agency showed. The number of unemployed rose by 7,000 in July from a month earlier, in line with economists' forecast and following a similar increase in the previous month. The jobless rate was at 6.8 percent, unchanged from the past few months, matching expectations.
The Eurozone unemployment rate, meanwhile, remained unchanged at a record high of 11.2 percent in June, the same as seen in May.
Elsewhere, Asian markets ended mostly higher despite caution ahead of monetary policy meetings by the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve. Commodities such as crude and copper are edging higher and the Dow futures point to a higher start on Wall Street as investors await a slew of economic reports for clues on Fed action to bolster economic growth.
by RTT Staff Writer
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