European Shares Edge Higher, Led by Banks, Miners

By Riva Gold and Ese Erheriene 

European stocks opened a touch higher Tuesday, brushing off muted leads from U.S. and Asian sessions.

The Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.3% in the early minutes of trading, with banks, insurance companies and miners leading much of the morning's advance. Shares of HSBC Holdings PLC were up 0.8% while Barclays PLC added 1.2% and Spain's Banco de Sabadell SA added 2.2%.

The basic resources sector was supported by an earlier jump in Chinese iron-ore futures and a climb in base metals prices. Copper futures hit their best levels since March amid optimism about Chinese demand and possible supply worries, and were last up 1.5% at $6,122 a ton.

Shares of Jimmy Choo PLC were up nearly 17% after luxury-fashion company Michael Kors Holdings reached a deal to buy it for GBP896 million ($1.17 billion).

U.S. stock futures were slightly lower after a quiet session Monday with shares of Google parent Alphabet Inc. falling around 3% in after-hours trading after reporting second-quarter earnings. The stock had gained around 26% so far this year and expectations were high ahead of the results.

In government bonds, 10-year German yields edged up to 0.501% from 0.497% Monday, while 10-year Treasury yields were unchanged at 2.253%.

Greece is expected to return to international bond markets for the first time in three years in a deal set to close Tuesday, with Athens seeking to swap a bond due in 2019 for a new one that will mature in 2022.

Antonio Garcia Pascual, economist at Barclays, said that a combination of contained funding risks, an improving growth picture, and stronger investor appetite for Greece mitigated many of the potential pitfalls associated with the decision. "The timing is favorable from a macroeconomic and market perspective," he said.

Earlier, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.7%, handily outperforming stock markets in the region, following a weak session on Monday. Major banks and mining companies led the advance, while shares there also drew some support from a climb in oil prices.

Brent crude oil was last up 0.4% at $49.03 a barrel following pledges from Saudi Arabia and Nigeria to curb exports and output, respectively.

Indexes in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan were barely changed from Monday's closing levels while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.5% from a record high.

In currencies, the WSJ Dollar Index edged down 0.1% with the dollar off 0.2% against the yen and euro and flat against the British pound. Many investors appeared to be taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of Wednesday's statement from the Federal Open Market Committee. Economists expect no change in the fed funds target rate, though some have speculated the central bank could announce the start date of its balance sheet runoff.

Razak Musah Baba contributed to this article.

Write to Riva Gold at [e-mail] and Ese Erheriene at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2017 03:57 ET (07:57 GMT)

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