Market Update
European markets were higher Tuesday as investors looked forward to U.S. Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen's first public appearance due later just after the U.S. market open.
The FTSE was up 0.5%. The CAC 40 Paris gained 0.6% while the German DAX rose 0.8%.
No economic data is due from the euro-zone today.
Stocks on the Move
Barclays PLC was down about 2% ahead of its full earnings report. The bank pre-released earnings Monday, revealing a 26% decline in profit, and missing estimates.
Vodafone was marginally lower after unconfirmed news reports that the company has offered to buy Spain’s largest cable operator Ono from its private-equity owners.
Glencore Xstrata was up 0.7% after the company said earlier today its copper production rose 26% while coal output was up 4% in the year to the end of December 2013, offsetting weaker output figures in zinc and lead.
L’Oreal was up 1.1% after the French cosmetics group agreed to buy back 8% of its capital from Nestle. Separately, L’Oreal said its underlying sales improved more than expected in the fourth quarter, helped by demand across several foreign markets.
Sanofi SA was down half a percent after U.S. drug-maker Merck joined the race to make a cut-price copy of Sanofi’s top-selling insulin treatment Lanctus.
Eiffage gained 2% after results.
Also after results, German engineering group Bilfinger was down 0.6%. Retailer Metro fell 1.6%.