European stocks may edge higher at open on Wednesday, tracking firm Asian markets and the U.S. index futures, after an upbeat report on U.S. consumer confidence, encouraging manufacturing data from China and stronger-than-expected GDP growth in Australia eased concerns about slowing global growth.
However, German retail sales fell 0.3% in real terms in July from the prior month, the Federal Statistical Office said in a report on Wednesday. Economists had expected a 0.5% rise in sales in July after a 0.3% fall in June.
Manufacturing PMI data from the eurozone along with house price data from the U.K. are due later in the day, headlining a busy day for European economic news. Economists expect the eurozone manufacturing indicator to come in at 55.0, unchanged from the earlier estimate. U.K. house prices are seen falling 0.1% month-over-month.
Japan's Nikkei average, which tumbled 3.6% yesterday, rose over a percent on Wednesday, amid growing signs of a halt in the rapid advance in the yen versus the dollar. However, China's Shanghai Composite index eased about 0.8%, led by property developers, on reports that the government will strictly implement its macro economic policies in the foreseeable future to restrain speculative investment in real estate.
Futures on the Dow index are now rising 66 points encouraged by continued growth in emerging markets. The U.S. markets turned in a lackluster performance overnight, with the lack of any substantive clues regarding the direction of the economy from the Federal Reserve contributing to the choppy trading on the day.
The major averages gave up earlier upside and turned mixed following the report, lingering near the flat line for the remainder of the session. While the Nasdaq slipped 0.3%, the Dow and the S&P 500 edged up around 0.1% each.
The minutes from the August Fed meeting revealed that a number of Fed policy makers called for further stimulus should the economy show additional weakness but offered no additional insight into the direction of the economy.
In domestic corporate news, Citigroup Inc. plans to raise its workforce in China to 12,000 in next three years, intensifying its rivalry with HSBC Holdings Plc, the Bloomberg reported.
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is set to replace Aegon NV in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index effective September 20.
Bourbon SA's first-half net profit nearly halved to EUR41 million due to sluggish revenue increases and a rise in operational costs because of impairment charges related to the sale of 16 bulk carriers.
France's Bouygues SA reported a 10% fall in second-quarter net profit, but said it is well-placed to grasp opportunities for growth in its markets. Builder Vinci SA reported a modest 1.9% rise in first-half net profit.
Italian lender UniCredit SpA sold 1.25 billion euros of five-year covered bonds, according to a Bloomberg report.
The European markets closed modestly higher Tuesday, with gold miners gaining ground amid rising bullion prices. Data revealing stability in the euro-zone labor market and an unexpected rise in U.S. consumer confidence also underpinned sentiment. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.45%, Germany's DAX rose 0.21% and the French CAC 40 edged up 0.10%.
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