Traders work at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The DAX closed up 0.20% at 9,753.56 points yesterday.

AFP/London

 

European stock markets inched higher yesterday supported by upbeat earnings, as investors paused for breath after the previous day’s strong gains amid ongoing concern about the fallout from Ukraine.

Frankfurt’s main DAX index gained 0.20% compared with Tuesday’s close to end the day at 9,753.56 points.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index edged up 0.04% to 6,798.15 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 added 0.16% to 4,376.32.

“European equity markets edged slightly higher in today’s trading session, while investors remained cautious after the strong rebound across equities and commodities yesterday,” said Myrto Sokou at Sucden Financial.

Markets also took heart from news that Spain’s economy grew at its strongest rate for six years in the second quarter of the year.

The news came after strong gains on Tuesday after news pro-Russian rebels had handed over the black boxes from the Malaysian passenger jet that came down in eastern Ukraine, killing almost 300 people.

Still, concern about the impact of the Ukraine crisis is continuing to weigh on consumer confidence in the eurozone, which retreated for the second month in a row, data showed yesterday.

“For the next few months, geopolitical tensions and concerns about the lack of sufficient pro-growth reforms in France will likely weigh further on eurozone indicators,” said Holger Schmieding at Berenberg.

US stocks reflected the tepid mood trade as traders continued to fret about escalating tensions between Russia and the West while airlines extended bans on flights to Tel Aviv amid Gaza security concerns.

Wall Street investors also kept an eye on US earnings after strong results from Delta Airlines, Boeing and PepsiCo.

“The S&P 500 made another intraday all-time high despite a wobble from another airline crash in Taiwan while the Dow was showing some weakness in the face of decent earnings from Boeing trading mostly flat early on above 17,100,” said Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets.

In mid-afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.14% to 17,088.85.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.21% to 1,987.79, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.43% to 4,475.18.

In European corporate activity, Daimler shares closed down 0.77% after the world’s third-biggest maker of luxury vehicles reported upbeat second-quarter earnings boosted by strong Mercedes sales.

French engineering group Alstom lost 0.18% after it reported sales and order figures which fit its strategy, controversial in France, of selling energy assets to focus on being a world leader in rail equipment.

Iberdrola shares gained 0.40% in Madrid despite the utility reporting a 13% drop in its first-half net profit to 1.5bn euros due to cuts in renewable-energy subsidies.

And British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline plunged 4.73% after slashing its 2014 profits forecast as second-quarter earnings sank on the back of weak US trade, adverse currency moves and a Chinese bribery probe.

“China is one of the biggest growth area for pharmaceutical companies these days so the 20% drop in China sales after the bribery allegations have hit the company hard,” said Lawler.

The European single currency hit an eight-month low at against the dollar at $1.3455 due to concerns about the impact on the eurozone economy of possible fresh sanctions against Russia following the downing of flight MH17.

 

 

 

 

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