German Market Falls After Zew Report

(RTTNews) - The German market is trading lower on Tuesday, after investor confidence weakened more than expected in February. The U.S. futures indicate a higher open on Wall Street as trading resumes after the Presidents' Day holiday.

Germany's investor confidence deteriorated sharply in February, and to a larger extent than expected by economists, data from the ZEW indicator of economic sentiment showed. Economic sentiment fell to 55.7 in February from 61.7 in January. The score was expected to drop modestly to 61.5.

Meanwhile, U.K. consumer price inflation fell below the central bank's 2 percent target for the first time since November 2009, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed. Inflation eased unexpectedly to 1.9 percent in January from 2 percent in December. The rate was expected to remain at 2 percent.

Further, the European Central Bank said the euro area current account surplus declined in December due to a fall in trade surplus and widening current transfer deficit, the European Central Bank said Tuesday.

Europe's car registrations increased for the fifth consecutive month in January, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association showed. However, the annual growth rate eased notably.

The Bank of Japan, at the end of its two-day meeting, decided to double the scale of its bank lending facility, while keeping the monetary easing plan unchanged. The central bank also maintained the upbeat outlook on the economy.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is losing 0.58 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is falling 0.44 percent.

The DAX index is currently losing 0.10 percent.

Volkswagen and BMW are falling 1.7 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively. Daimler is falling 1 percent.

Bilfinger Berger is down 1 percent. Goldman Sachs cut the stock to ''Buy'' from ''Conviction Buy'' list.

Hochtief is gaining 4.6 percent. The stock was raised to ''Buy'' from ''Neutral'' at Goldman Sachs.

Jefferies initiated Deutsche Bank with a ''Buy'' rating. The stock is up moderately.

Aixtron is climbing 4.4 percent, following a positive broker recommendation at JPMorgan.

Other European markets are also trading lower.

The Asian stocks held steady, although Chinese shares fell from two-month highs on liquidity worries.

Crude for March delivery is gaining $0.36 to $100.66 per barrel, while gold is rising $0.2 to $1318.8 a troy ounce.