On Tuesday, European shares eased differing from Wall Street which overnight rebounded for a second session, and reports of corporate results were unsuccessful in elevating the indexes.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was marginally negative, down 0.02 percent at 0920 GMT with bourses and sectors trading flat.
“Wall Street is looking to build on a big two-day rally but there is as yet no real conviction behind this, as evidenced by the softer performance in European indices this morning,” commented Neil Wilson, a senior market.
“We are yet to build consensus around this rally and it could run into trouble if conviction is lacking”, Wilson added.
The reporting of corporate results generated both positive and negative responses on the floors of European exchanges. The telecoms sector took a hit after Telenet reported its numbers for last year. The Belgian operator dropped more than 7 percent, taking the title for worst performer on the STOXX.
Shares in Gucci’s owner Kering fell 2.6 percent, even though the company had reported positive sales growth for the fourth quarter. Competitor Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, LVMH, also was down 1.2 percent.
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After reporting results that were lower than estimates of analysts, Smelter Aurubis dropped nearly 4 percent.
The French video game producer, Ubisoft, was up 5.1 percent following a trading update moving it to the top of the STOXX 600.
Randstad, the second largest staffing company in the world, rose 0.9 percent after reports of fourth-quarter core profits rising 15 percent. This was helped by the solid recovery in the European jobs market.
TUI took the title for best performer on the FTSE, rising 4.6 percent following its reports that Turkey’s bookings for the summer were improving. The travel and leisure sector was one of the few sectors that traded steadily in positive territory, gaining 0.9 percent. Lufthansa was up 1.9 percent and Easyjet gained 1.7 percent.