European stocks rise on strong earnings data

European stocks rose for the second day as investors weighed better-than-expected results from companies including Total and Schneider Electric and shrugged off earnings reports from other stocks that missed analysts' projections.

Sentiment was also buoyed by expectations the US Federal Reserve would signal after the close of markets that it was in no hurry to raise interest rates.

Equities in the region have entered a more stable period this week, rebounding from a series of heavy sell-offs that approached the point technically considered to be a market correction.

DUBLIN

The Iseq index underperformed the major European indices as its biggest stock, building materials group CRH, fell 1 per cent at €17.25, while the stock with the second-largest weighting, Ryanair, closed down 0.4 per cent at €7.37. This contributed to a 0.6 per cent dip in the Dublin market.

Drinks group C&C sold off 8.6 per cent, losing 32 cent to close at €3.40 after it reported a sharp decline in the profitability of its US and British cider businesses. The company is also said to be mulling a cash bid of close to €1 billion for Britain's Spirit Pub Company.

Cheese-maker Glanbia rose 0.8 per cent to €11.33 after it published an interim management statement that maintained its guidance on full-year earnings for 2014 and highlighted a positive outlook. Food stocks Kerry and Origin also made gains.

Bank of Ireland fell almost 2 per cent to 30 cent, while Aer Lingus closed down 2.8 per cent at €1.38. Earlier in the day, Air France-KLM reported third-quarter earnings that fell short of expectations.

LONDON

The FTSE 100 index jumped 0.8 per cent, reaching its highest level in nearly three weeks.

Supermarket retailer Tesco rose 2.1 per cent to 173 pence. Traders shrugged off news that Britain's Serious Fraud Office was launching a probe into accounting errors at Tesco and bought up the shares, which have fallen nearly 50 per cent since the start of 2014.

Intertek, which carries out tests and inspections to make sure that goods meet health and safety standards, climbed 5.1 per cent for the biggest gain on the blue-chip index, after analysts reiterated positive comments on the stock after meetings with the company management.

EUROPE

National benchmark indexes climbed in 10 of the 18 western-European markets, with Germany’s DAX Index rising 0.4 per cent and France’s CAC 40 Index finishing up 0.1 per cent.

Manufacturing company Schneider Electric added 2.8 per cent to €60.49. The world’s biggest maker of low- and medium-voltage equipment said third-quarter revenue rose to €6.29 billion as demand improved in the US.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles rallied 11 per cent to €8.50 after saying it will spin off its Ferrari unit and list its shares in the US and possibly also in Europe.

Spanish lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) slid 3.8 per cent to €8.84 as it posted third-quarter net income of €601 million, short of analysts' projections. Deutsche Bank fell 1.8 per cent to €24.81 as the German lender swung to a loss in the third quarter after setting aside €894 million to cover the costs of settling investigations into past wrongdoing.

NEW YORK

US stocks fell in early trading, after the Federal Reserve ended its monthly bond purchase programme, as had been expected. The day’s losses were broad, with all 10 primary S&P 500 sectors dropping.

Facebook fell 6.1 per cent to $75.84 the day after the social network announced an increase in spending next year and projected a slowdown in revenue growth this quarter.

Shares of Orbital Sciences and Alliant Techsystems fell a day after Orbital's unmanned rocket exploded seconds after lift-off from a commercial launch pad in Virginia.

– (Additional reporting: Bloomberg / Reuters)