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European Market Updates
11/18/2009 1:48 AM ET
(RTTNews) -
The European markets may see a choppy session on Wednesday as investors look ahead to Bank of England minutes for clues on more quantitative easing. Investors may also scrutinize a raft of U.S economic data such as CPI and housing starts for more cues about the health of the world's largest economy.
Asian stock markets exhibited a mixed trend on Wednesday as stocks lacked support at higher levels amid some doubts about the pace of economic recovery. However, oil prices extended gains after the release of the inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute, while the dollar slipped against the yen and the euro.
On Wall Street, the major averages reversed early losses to end near their best levels of the day on Tuesday. With the release of benign economic indicators prompting many traders to remain on the sidelines, the Dow ended up by a modest 0.29% to close at a new one-year high, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.27% and the S&P added 0.09%.
In corporate news, home cleaning products maker S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. is eying the air-freshener business of Sara Lee Corp in a combination that could see S.C. Johnson's Glade brand and Sara Lee's Ambi Pur brand create a formidable player in Europe, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Automaker General Motors Corp plans to cut production capacity by 20% to 25%, and cut about 10,000 of the 55,000 jobs across Europe as part of its planned restructuring, reports released on Tuesday stated.
Insurer Axa SA announced that its chief operating officer Claude Brunet has resigned his mandate as a member of AXA's management board.
British mobile phone company T-Mobile U.K, part of Deutsche Telekom, said that its employees sold thousands of customers' private details to third parties without its consent.
Italian defense and aerospace firm Finmeccanica SpA said it signed a contract worth more than 600 million euros with the Italian Air Force.
Likewise, French outdoor advertising company JCDecaux SA bagged a contract to provide a self-service bicycle hire scheme to the city of Toyama in Japan.
German carrier Air Berlin AG said its net profit more than doubled in the third quarter from a year earlier.
The European markets fell for the first time in five days on Tuesday after a report showed that U.S. industrial production rose less than forecast in October.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips closed 0.43% lower, while the narrower DJ Stoxx 50 index fell 0.37%. Around Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index slipped 0.68%, France's CAC 40 index dropped 0.88% and Germany's DAX index fell 0.45%.
by RTT Staff Writer
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