Market Update
European indexes were slightly higher early Tuesday as investors took cues from the Asian markets, which logged modest gains after the People's Bank of China injected liquidity into the financial system.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8:38 a.m. in London, the CAC 40 Paris also inched up 0.1% and the DAX Frankfurt gained 0.3%.
Investors were also looking forward to some economic reports due to be released later in the trading day. The euro-zone ZEW economic sentiment index was expected to come in at 70.2, up from 68.3 reported in the previous month.
The German ZEW economic sentiment was also on tap today with analysts expecting a higher reading of 64.0 this month as compared with 62.0 recorded in the month ago.
Stocks on the Move
Financial stocks rebounded from losses in the previous session.
French lender BNP Paribas SA gained 1.8% while Societe Generale SA climbed 0.6%.
German firms Credit Agricole SA and Deutsche Bank AG added 0.6% each while Commerzbank AG improved 0.5%.
London-listed Lloyds Banking Group Plc. enhanced 0.3% but Barclays Plc. and HSBC Holdings Plc. were little changed.
Miners, however, slipped -- top miner BHP Billiton Plc. lost 1.3% while Rio Tinto Plc. erased 1.8%. Glencore Xstrata Plc. dropped 0.8%.
In earnings-related news, Alstom SA sank nearly 11% after lowering its profit targets for this year, citing lower demand for turbines.
On the other hand, consumer-products giant Unilever Plc. rose over 4% despite reporting its first slowdown in full-year sales growth since 2009.
Meanwhile, Randgold Resources Ltd. fell over 1% after saying it expected its gold mine in Congo to turn a profit in the final quarter of 2013.
In other corporate announcements, German household consumer product maker Henkel AG & Co. said it intends to widen its dividend payout ratio, and proposed a ratio of 30% of net income for 2013. Shares of the company were up 1.4% in response.