European Shares Subdued As Investors Await Fed Speeches

(RTTNews) - European stocks were flat to slightly lower on Tuesday as China reported mixed trade data and investors looked ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech due on Wednesday and Thursday for additional clarity on the U.S. rate outlook.

Meanwhile, data showed German industrial output registered a monthly fall of 1.4 percent in September, faster than the revised 0.1 percent drop in August. This was the fourth consecutive decline.

On a yearly basis, industrial production registered a 3.7 percent fall in September. Elsewhere, U.K. house prices rose in October, after falling for six months in a row, results of a survey by the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax and S&P Global showed.

The house price index rose 1.1 percent from September, when they declined 0.3 percent. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent gain.

The pan European STOXX 600 was little changed with a positive bias after having snapped a five-day winning streak in the previous session.

The German DAX and France's CAC 40 slipped around 0.2 percent each while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.1 percent.

Swiss banking giant UBS Group rallied 3.8 percent after reporting stronger-than-expected client inflows and progress in meeting cost-saving goals.

BP Plc fell 1.4 percent and Shell gave up 1.3 percent as crude prices fell nearly 2 percent on receding Middle East tensions.

Shares of Watches of Switzerland Group jumped over 7 percent after the luxury watch retailer reported higher revenues in its second quarter and said it expects to more than double sales and profits by fiscal 2028.

Housebuilder Persimmon rose about 2 percent after raising its guidance for new home completions.

Primark owner Associated British Foods soared 7 percent after it reported a 5 percent increase in annual profit and declared a special dividend.

Engie gained 1.2 percent. The French energy company raised its full-year outlook after reporting earnings before interest and taxes of 8.322 billion euros for the 9-month period, 14.7 percent from 7.254 billion euros in the same period a year ago.

Germany's Evotec fell nearly 2 percent after it entered into a R&D collaboration with Dewpoint Therapeutics announced to advance Dewpoint's oncology pipeline programs of condensate modifying therapeutics to Investigational New Drug Applications using Evotec's data-driven platform.