European Markets Bounced Back From Recent Weakness

(RTTNews) - The European markets rebounded from three consecutive sessions of declines on Tuesday. Encouraging earnings results from companies such as Siemens AG and Software AG provided a boost to investor sentiment. Banks and mining stocks were among the best performing stocks. Investors are awaiting the announcement from the Federal Reserve policy meeting on Wednesday.

The Fed is expected to cut its bond-buying stimulus program to $65 billion from the current $75 billion, the same pace as the first reduction announced in December. The Fed is expected to make no change to interest rates.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 0.73 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.45 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 0.62 percent and the CAC 40 of France advanced by 0.98 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. rose by 0.33 percent and the SMI of Switzerland gained 0.67 percent.

In Frankfurt, shares of Software AG rallied by 7.15 percent. The business software maker reported a decline in its fourth-quarter profit, but said it expects operating result to grow between 4 and 10 percent in fiscal 2014. Commerzbank rose by 1.80 percent and Deutsche Bank added 0.70 percent.

Siemens finished up by 1.57 percent. The industrial equipment maker reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings and said that it plans to delist its American Depositary Receipts from the New York Stock Exchange.

Apple supplier Dialog Semiconductor fell by 0.50 percent and semiconductor & software design firm ARM Holdings dropped by 1.36 percent in London, after Apple reported flat earnings and lowered its sales outlook for 2014.

In Paris, Kaufman & Broad declined by 0.15 percent. The property builder reported a decline in fourth-quarter net income to 17 million euros from 19.8 million euros last year and said it expects fiscal 2014 to be a mixed year.

In London, miner BHP Billiton climbed by 1.24 percent and rival Rio Tinto gained 2.32 percent. Nomura Holdings lifted its rating on the mining sector to "Neutral" from "Bearish."

In a trading update, lender Royal Bank of Scotland Group announced that it would provide about 3 billion pounds to cover various claims and conduct related matters affecting the group companies, which will reflect in its 2013 results. The stock advanced by 3.52 percent.

Lloyds Banking Group increased by 3.05 percent and Barclays added 1.47 percent.

BG Group decreased by 2.63 percent, after JP Morgan downgraded it to "Neutral" from "Overweight."

Eurozone's leading indicator increased for the seventh successive month, signaling continued improvement in the region's economic outlook, survey data released by the Conference Board revealed Tuesday. The leading economic index advanced 0.6 percent sequentially to 109.9 in December, after recording a similar gain in November. The index has now increased for the seventh month in a row.

Germany's import prices decreased for the twelfth successive month in December, but at a weaker rate than in the previous month, data released by the Federal Statistical Office revealed Tuesday.

The import price index dropped 2.3 percent in December from the corresponding month of 2012. This followed a 2.9 percent fall in November. Prices have now fallen regularly since December 2012. Economists had forecast a slower decline of 2.2 percent for December 2013.

French unemployment hit a record high in December, data from Labor Ministry showed late Monday. The number of people registered as unemployed rose by 10,200 or 0.3 percent in December to reach 3.3 million, the highest since records began in 1996. From the previous year, unemployment increased 5.7 percent.

France's consumer confidence increased for the second consecutive month in January, survey data released by statistical office Insee showed Tuesday. Economists had forecast sentiment to remain steady. The headline consumer confidence index advanced to 86 in January from 85 in December and 84 in November. Economists had forecast the index to remain unchanged at the December level.

Britain's economic growth moderated slightly, as expected, in the fourth quarter, but the full-year growth hit the fastest pace since 2007, preliminary estimates from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday.

Gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent from the previous quarter, when it rose 0.8 percent. The fourth quarter expansion matched economists' expectations. With orders for transportation equipment showing a substantial decrease, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing that new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly dropped in the month of December.

The report said durable goods orders tumbled by 4.3 percent in December following a downwardly revised 2.6 percent increase in November. The drop in orders came as a surprise to economists, who had expected orders to increase by about 1.8 percent compared to the 3.4 percent growth that had been reported for the previous month.

Home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas rose by slightly more than expected in the month of November, according to a report released by Standard & Poor's on Tuesday. The report said the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index rose 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in November compared to a 1.1 percent increase in October. Economist had expected the index to increase by 0.8 percent.

Consumer confidence in the U.S. improved for the second consecutive month in January, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday, with the consumer confidence index rising by more than expected during the month.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index climbed to 80.7 in January from a downwardly revised 77.5 in December. Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to edge up to 79.0 from the 78.1 originally reported for the previous month.