Investing.com – European stock markets fluctuated between gains and losses on Wednesday, as investors digested a flurry of mixed earnings reports, while U.S. futures indexes pointed to a lower open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 was down 0.02%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.04%, while Germany's DAX gained 0.15%.
Shares in the world’s fourth largest pharmaceutical firm Sanofi-Aventis dropped 1.72% after it reported fourth quarter net profit declined by 64% to EUR437 million. Revenue in the quarter totaled EUR7.4 billion, falling short of market expectations for revenue of EUR7.35 billion.
Shares in rival GlaxoSmithKline dipped 2.06%, while biopharmaceutical firm Shire lost 1.65%.
French automaker Peugeot saw shares tumble 1.99% after it cut its full-year earnings outlook after the company said the European market was “set to remain challenging in 2011”.
Shares in oil and gas giant Statoil slid 2.71% after it said fourth quarter net profit totaled EUR1.21 billion, missing expectations for profit of EUR1.54 billion.
However, shares in utility providers performed strongly after French utility giant Suez Environnement said revenue in the 2010 fiscal year rose by 12.8% to EUR13.86 billion, beating expectations for revenue of EUR13.43 billion.
Following the results, the company saw shares jump 2.12%, while rival Veolia Environnement saw shares gain 1.64%.
Elsewhere, the world’s largest maker of agricultural chemicals Sygenta climbed 2.42% after it reported net income in 2010 totaled EUR1.02 billion, exceeding expectations for income of EUR0.95 billion.
In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.42% after consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser reported fourth quarter net profit dropped by 7.5% to GBP414 million, citing “declining global market growth”. Reckitt saw shares tumble 4.25% following the report.
Meanwhile, shares in miners were broadly lower after China unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate on Tuesday.
Shares in the world’s largest mining group BHP Billiton slumped 1.19% copper producer Xstrata declined 0.87%, while rival Kazakhmys saw shares drop 1.79%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat ahead of earnings reports from Coca-Cola and from technology giant Cisco Systems.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.18%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop of 0.29%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a decline of 0.22%.
Later in the day, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke was to testify before the Budget Committee in Washington.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 was down 0.02%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.04%, while Germany's DAX gained 0.15%.
Shares in the world’s fourth largest pharmaceutical firm Sanofi-Aventis dropped 1.72% after it reported fourth quarter net profit declined by 64% to EUR437 million. Revenue in the quarter totaled EUR7.4 billion, falling short of market expectations for revenue of EUR7.35 billion.
Shares in rival GlaxoSmithKline dipped 2.06%, while biopharmaceutical firm Shire lost 1.65%.
French automaker Peugeot saw shares tumble 1.99% after it cut its full-year earnings outlook after the company said the European market was “set to remain challenging in 2011”.
Shares in oil and gas giant Statoil slid 2.71% after it said fourth quarter net profit totaled EUR1.21 billion, missing expectations for profit of EUR1.54 billion.
However, shares in utility providers performed strongly after French utility giant Suez Environnement said revenue in the 2010 fiscal year rose by 12.8% to EUR13.86 billion, beating expectations for revenue of EUR13.43 billion.
Following the results, the company saw shares jump 2.12%, while rival Veolia Environnement saw shares gain 1.64%.
Elsewhere, the world’s largest maker of agricultural chemicals Sygenta climbed 2.42% after it reported net income in 2010 totaled EUR1.02 billion, exceeding expectations for income of EUR0.95 billion.
In London, the FTSE 100 shed 0.42% after consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser reported fourth quarter net profit dropped by 7.5% to GBP414 million, citing “declining global market growth”. Reckitt saw shares tumble 4.25% following the report.
Meanwhile, shares in miners were broadly lower after China unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate on Tuesday.
Shares in the world’s largest mining group BHP Billiton slumped 1.19% copper producer Xstrata declined 0.87%, while rival Kazakhmys saw shares drop 1.79%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat ahead of earnings reports from Coca-Cola and from technology giant Cisco Systems.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.18%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop of 0.29%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a decline of 0.22%.
Later in the day, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke was to testify before the Budget Committee in Washington.