By Adria Cimino & Namitha Jagadeesh - Jan 28, 2013 1:09 PM GMT+0400
European stocks were little changed near a 23-month high as investors awaited reports on American durable-goods orders and pending house sales. U.S. index futures were also little changed, while Asian shares fell.
SBM Offshore NV (SBMO) rose 3.5 percent after Morgan Stanley upgraded its recommendation for the stock. Debenhams Plc, the second-largest U.K. department-store chain, dropped 3.4 percent after Morgan Stanley cut its rating of the shares.
Traders work on the floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Frankfurt. Photographer: Ralph Orlowski/Bloomberg
The Stoxx 600 (SXXP) retreated 0.1 percent to 289.4 at 9:07 a.m. in London. It rallied last week to the highest level since February 2011. The benchmark measure has jumped 3.5 percent this year as U.S. lawmakers agreed on a budget compromise. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.3 percent.
In the U.S., orders for durable goods probably climbed in December, showing manufacturing stabilized following a mid-year slump, according to economists before a report at 8:30 a.m. Washington time. Separately, the National Association of Realtors may say its index of pending sales of houses rose 0.1 percent last month after increasing 1.7 percent the prior month.
Chinese industrial companies’ profits rose 17 percent to 895 billion yuan ($144 billion) in December from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday in Beijing.
SBM, ASML
SBM Offshore gained 3.5 percent to 12.02 euros. The largest maker of floating oil-and-gas platforms was raised to equal weight, a rating similar to neutral, from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
ASML Holding NV added 3.3 percent to 56.51 euros. Europe’s largest semiconductor-equipment supplier was raised to buy from neutral at Citigroup Inc, which cited three reasons for its decision. Any risk associated with capital spending by ASML’s customers is limited, concern about the potential of the extreme ultraviolet technology is diminishing and the revenue contribution from services is increasing, Citigroup said.
TNT Express NV advanced 3.2 percent to 5.68 euros after UBS AG upgraded the shares to buy from neutral. The Dutch delivery company’s new management will swiftly act to fix or sell its Brazilian and Chinese operations, UBS said.
Debenhams Plc, the second-largest U.K. department-store chain, dropped 3.4 percent to 101.7 pence. Morgan Stanley cut its recommendation on the shares to equal weight from overweight. Morgan Stanley lowered its rating on the U.K. general retail industry to “cautious” and said analysts’ estimates for the industry’s profit growth in 2013 are too high.
EasyJet Plc slid 1.5 percent to 930.5 pence after the company said Michael Rake will step down as the company’s chairman and non-executive director in summer 2013.
Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA) slipped 2.2 percent to 5.38 euros. Europe’s biggest discount airline said it sees net income of about 540 million euros in the year ending March 31. Investors may be disappointed with the outlook, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a note today.
To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
