EU stock markets steady after strong gains
Traders cautious despite a possible deal aimed at preventing a US-led military attack on Syria.
LONDON (AFP) - Europe s leading stock markets were broadly steady Wednesday after the previous day s strong gains, with traders cautious despite a possible deal aimed at preventing a US-led military attack on Syria.
London s benchmark FTSE 100 index was off 0.10 percent to 6,577.08 points in afternoon trading and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.15 percent to 4,110.42 points.
Meanwhile Frankfurt s DAX 30 rose 0.49 percent to stand at 8,488.21.
The index won support from news that Germany paid its highest interest rate in almost two years at a bond auction on Wednesday, as economic prospects in the eurozone brighten and the country s safe-haven status dwindles.
The interest rate for the 10-year Bund came in at 2.06 percent, the highest for such an operation since October 2011, according to figures released by the Bundesbank.
Despite a pick-up in the eurozone outlook and news Wednesday also of positive British unemployment data, "there remains a lot of uncertainty in the financial markets at the moment and as we know, the markets hate uncertainty", said analyst Craig Erlam at Alpari traders.
"This is not just centred around the conflict in Syria, opinions are still split on whether the Fed will scale back its asset purchases when it meets next week," he added.
US President Barack Obama on Tuesday asked Congress to delay voting on US military action.
In a live address to the nation from the White House, Obama said delaying a decision on military intervention in Syria was necessary to give a chance to Russia s plan to neutralise its ally s chemical weapons.
However he warned that it was too early to tell if Russia s plan would work, and said cruise missile destroyers would remain stationed in the Mediterranean, ready to strike.
European equities had rebounded strongly on Tuesday as investors welcomed bright Chinese economic data and the receding threat of imminent military action against Syria.
Frankfurt and Paris indices both jumped by about 2.0 percent in value on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the European single currency edged up to $1.3269 from $1.3267 late in New York overnight. The dollar dipped to 100.20 yen from 100.27 yen.
Sterling rallied to $1.5776 following stronger-than-expected British unemployment data that gave rise to expectations that the Bank of England would be forced to raise record-low interest rates earlier than thought.
The price of gold advanced to $1,365.25 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, from $1,358.25 Tuesday.
On the European corporate front, shares in Britain s biggest retailer, supermarket group Tesco, grew 0.16 percent to 372.65 pence after confirming its exit from the United States at a cost of up to ?150 million ($236 million, 178 million euros).
Tesco said late in London on Tuesday that it had struck a deal to offload most of its loss-making US West Coast chain Fresh & Easy to investment group Yucaipa.
Tesco said Yucaipa would acquire more than 150 stores as well as distribution and production facilities. The remaining stores out of a total 200 will close.
Asian markets mostly edged up on Wednesday, with optimism about the state of the global economy helped by receding fears of a US-led strike on Syria.
However, profit-taking capped gains after the previous two days advances.
Tokyo ended flat owing to a late sell-off as dealers cashed in after a four percent gain since the weekend, while Sydney added 0.64 percent, and Seoul closed 0.49 percent higher.
Shanghai rose 0.15 percent while Hong Kong slid 0.17 percent, ending four straight sessions of gains.
US stocks opened mixed on Wednesday, with Apple s disappointing iPhones launch dragging down the Nasdaq.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.19 percent at 15,219.51 points.
The broad-market S&P 500 index slid 0.11 percent to 1,682.17, while the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 0.37 percent to 3,715.11.
Apple shares were under heavy selling pressure, down 4.8 percent, a day after unveiling two new iPhones and dashing expectations that a media event in Beijing would reveal a deal with China Mobile, the country s biggest carrier.
"The company failed to impress the analyst community with its latest iPhone introductions and the lack of an announcement of a China Mobile deal," said Patrick O Hare of Briefing.com.
