Investing.com - European stocks were steady to higher in choppy trade on Tuesday, as markets slightly recovered from data earlier showing that Chinese growth expanded at its slowest pace in five years.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 eased 0.07%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.17%, while Germany’s DAX added 0.11%.
Global equity markets came under pressure earlier, after official data showed that China's economy grew at an annual rate of 7.3% in the three months to September, slightly higher than the 7.2% forecast by economists, but slowing from 7.5% in the second quarter.
It was the slowest rate of growth since the first quarter of 2009, in the midst of the global financial crisis.
The slowdown fuelled fears that China will miss its annual growth target of 7.5% and that that could act as a drag on the U.S. economy.
A separate report showed that industrial production in China rose at an annualized rate of 8.0% last month, exceeding expectations for a 7.5% rise, after a 6.9% gain the previous month.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.42% and 0.65%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) declined 0.89%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) advanced 0.45% and 0.74% respectively, while BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) added 0.15% and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) lost 0.61% in Spain.
Elsewhere, Total (PARIS:TOTF) edged down 0.17% following news the French oil giant's chief executive officer Christophe de Margerie died Monday night when his airplane struck a snowplow on a Moscow runway.
SAP SE (OTC:SAPGF), down 0.40%, added to losses for the second consecutive session after CEO Bill McDermott said investors should better understand a shift to cloud computing that’s taking a toll on the company’s profit.
SAP shares plummeted over 5% on Monday as the world’s largest supplier of business-management software cut its full-year earnings forecast.
In London, FTSE 100 inched up 0.01%, supported by gains in Shire (LONDON:SHP), up 1.20% after it and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) agreed to terminate what would have been the biggest U.S. tax inversion.
The decision came as Abbvie pulled its support for the deal in the wake of proposed changes to U.S. rules governing such transactions.
Mining stocks were also on the upside, as Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) edged up 0.09% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) added 0.28%, while rivals Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) and Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) climbed 0.87% and 1.55% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks were mostly lower. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) slid 0.37% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) dropped 0.50%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) declined 0.74%. HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) overperformed however, up 0.10%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.41% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.40% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.20% fall.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales.